


Until Then

by sommer_annie



Series: The Department [3]
Category: Assassination Classroom, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Character Death, Cinnamon Roll, Comedy, Grim Reapers, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Multi, Shinigami, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-11-22 09:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11376933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sommer_annie/pseuds/sommer_annie
Summary: AU of Until the day I'm forgiven.It was going to be great, Class-E was going to take majority in ranking, Karma takes 1st place and what not. But that feeling of job ended when they were visited by a black cladded man in their homeroom classroom. And for some reason, he looks exactly like Gakuhou's old student."Hey, so... stuff happened and we have to overlook your class now... hi?"Collab with Teddygirl105





	1. On the other side

**On the other side.**

Gakushu Asano was known by many to be the perfect student, he was a student in Class-3A in Kunugigaoka Junior High School and the leader of the Five Virtuoses. On top of that, he was the Student Council President, and he was the only of the Board Chairman of his school, Gakuhou Asano. He was handsome, with his neatly cut strawberry blond hair, his bright violet eyes resembled the valued gem, amethyst. Many around him said that the boy resembled his father.

To the main school building, he was the best of the best, the number one ace and he was admired by many. Meanwhile to Class-E, he was seen as an "arrogant bastard", who looked down upon on them with pity or indifference. Parents wanted him as their own child, and many were desperate to be his "friend."

Gakushu scoffed to this, they wanted to be friends because of his father's influence and nothing else, and not because of who he truly was. If anything, he only had one true friend in this school.

And right now, he waited by at the campus, he knew that some of Class-E would be coming at any moment. And as he predicted, a group of Class-E's colourful cast of characters have arrive.

'I can do this, I have to do this…'

He thought back about his relationship between him and his father, if he could even call it that. He couldn't even call it a teacher and student relationship, even some teachers would be concerned over their student's wellbeing. As seen when they complained to the Chairman has gone too far with the content and extreme difficulty of the exam questions.

But not Gakuhou Asano, he was far different from them. Gakushu had the pleasure to see that many of the questions were university level. The kind of questions that would get you into a third-rate college. He let out a sigh, it wasn't new for him, so much that he grew use to it, as much as the others would protest against it.

'Oh well, I have a year before I could leave for England.'

"But he's just focusing on the education at one school. That really goes to show how strong he is." It looks like they were walking about his father.

'What a coincident.'

Kayano, the petite student with green hair tied in twin twins gasped. "Hey look, it's Asano." She was the first to spot the strawberry blonde boy, as he stood there with his signature scowl of indifference.

Gakushu mentally took in a deep breathe, he side glanced to the group with his violet eyes. Terasaka seemed tensed under his gaze. The strawberry blonde turned to them and walked towards them, they looked as if they were preparing for any possibility of an attack. Other than Karma Akabane who had that shit-eating grin, something that always irritated the strawberry blonde. Mainly because it reminded him of a certain character who loved to push his buttons.

"You need something?" Maehara asked.

"You sure don't look like you're here for recon." Isogai nervously chuckled.

'This is it.' Gakushu thought to himself, he had his hands in a fist as they shook. He angled his head slightly to the ground, putting on an expression of struggle. The group wondered what Gakushu wanted.

"It pains me to say this…" Gakushu said in a low whisper, he paused and forced himself to choke out the finishing sentence. "But I need your help." The strawberry blonde didn't like how the red-head's smile grew.

Gakushu could already imagine the demonic-like horns on Karma. 'Damn you red-head demon.' He wouldn't be surprised if Karma was the devil, not exactly old news.

His violet eyes shut closed to show his frustration, "I'll get to the point. I want you to kill that monster!" That monster being was his father's education. He never thought a day that he would be asking this, but he was on a schedule and this was the best scenario he could play around at.

It was a shock to many of the lower-ranked students, for Gakushu Asano to give an assassination order for the Chairman, on his father.

Gakushu chuckled, as he weakly smiled, "Of course I don't mean for you to literally kill him." Was it wrong to think that the class was relieved at that? "What I want you to kill… is his educational ideology."

'Before it does any more damage, it has already done enough damage in my lifetime' He mused to himself. One female student asked how. "Simple. In the upcoming semester exams, I want you to monopolize the upper ranks."

Gakushu noticed from the start, it did sparked some interest in the boy of how the 'lowest' class improved so much this year alone in a short period of time. He trust that they were able to do it, like he said, it was simple enough. "Of course, I'll undoubtedly take first place, but an exceptional student making exceptional grades is nothing special.

Gakushu scoffed, "But Class-A at the bottom of the heap placing better than the best of the best would undoubtedly shatter his educational methods."

'That man is making enough victims.' He looked over to Nagisa who was weakly smiling as he took in his words.

Terasake stepped forth and asked the strawberry blonde, "What are you talking about? And why would the head of Class-A come asking us this?"

'Because this was the best course of action, the Chairman has bare minimal influence here than in the main building.'

"Asano, I've heard about your strained relationship with him" Megu whispered.

Gakushu wanted to roll his eyes, he kept it to himself, obviously, although he was internally screaming. 'Fucking understatement of the fucking century, way to point out the obvious.'

"Could it be… that you're trying to reject his methods and turn away from him?" She continued and Gakushu became quiet. He would say that he was correct, but he needed to keep up his appearances.

Although he would also say that she was wrong, because he already rejected his father's teachings. Even if it took him almost four years and some unlearning needed to be done. For now, he needed to continue his act as the perfect son of Gakuhou Asano, who looked down upon those who he deemed as 'lower'.

"Don't misunderstand me." Gakushu banged his fist on his chest, looking to them with a prideful look. "I may be your father, but you must become a strong person who can defeat even me. That's what he taught me all my life."

"Our relationship, has been made up of competitions." And it made Gakushu's life somewhat difficult but it was manageable. "But the mindless masses just aren't like that."

He thought back when his father called him and the rest of the Five Virtuosos to his office, only for Gakushu to be asked to wait outside of the room. Gakushu wanted to object, he couldn't' imagine that his father would do with the group and especially to Ren in private. But with Ren's blessing, Gakushu did so.

The hazel haired boy, with his hair half-shaven and spiked, complimented by the gentle and warm eye-colours of hazel brown. Gakushu trusted in his words, he wanted to…

Only three minutes later, when he was called back in, he thought that there was a demonic ritual as the office was shrouded in darkness. And then he remember that such a ritual could never happen in today's time but he was horrified that four of the Five Virtuosos were endlessly chanting to kill Class 3-E.

Gakuhou only merely explained that he was simply fanning the flames of hatred to Class 3-E. It was clear as day to Gakushu or to anyone else that he was only determined to make his philosophy stand through. Gakushu wanted to punch his face at worse, at best the nearest wall.

'You bastard! How dare you turn Ren to-' And to add more salt to the wound, his father would be handling the end of term exams. Gakushu couldn't wait for that stupid philosophy of his to crash and burn. And what better way to do it was to have Class-E become the majority in the rankings.

'That is what you get for corrupting Ren.'

Gakushu snapped from his thoughts and continued his explanation to the class, "Hating the enemy, scorning the enemy, these deceptions have limits in what power they can give you."

"In the end, they'll still be my followers in high school." Gakushu lied, he was going to England for Weston College by the end of the year. "And I just can't bring myself to support any followers with that kind of lopsided power."

"But if they were to suffer a clear defeat, I think that would wake them up." And Gakushu did the next best thing only expected him to him, the most uncharacteristic gesture to them, he bowed his head down. "So please… I need you to give my friend and father… a proper defeat."

And then Karma had to ruin everything, "Really? Worrying about other people?" He sticked his tongue out and gave Gakushu a mocking expression, "Idiot. I'm going to take first place, not you!"

'You just had to ruin the mood.' Gakushu was so close on breaking the red-head idiot's ribs, this close but he had to refrain himself. 'I am doing this for you, and you threw it back to my face!'

To everyone, Gakushu had a scowled expression but looked to be keeping his demeanour. However internally, Gakushu was screaming for blood and had the sudden carving for strawberry shortcake. Anything to calm his anger but again, he needed to keep up with appearances.

Karma smirked, leaning in to Gakushu, "I told you right? We're not going to hold back this time."

"I'll be at the top, and then Class-E will be below me." Gakushu was keeping his arms to himself, so that he wouldn't punch Karma's growing face that was grating him, or a nearby tree. "You'll be lucky if you get top ten."

"Ooh, Karma finally declared war." Takuya sang.

"This won't turn out like the first semester." Kotaro stated has he pushed back his circular glasses.

Terasaka with smug look stood behind of the red haired student, placing his hands on his shoulders, "Make sure you don't lose to me this time, okay? Gakushu ignored the fact that Karma just knee that the male's stomach.

The strawberry blonde heard his name called out from Isogai," We've been pushing for victory with all our might all this time. And this time will be the same."

"That's what our two classes have been doing." Isogai gave a gentle smile to the son of Asano. "When we win, we celebrate, when we lose, we get depressed. Then we start anew and prepare for the next time and I really like that."

"We want you guys to feel happy that you got to compete with us. If we can make Class-A think that, that's when we've really succeeded."

And Karma joined in, "But don't get us wrong. You better come at us like you mean it. It wouldn't be fun any other way."

'Sadly, I can't do that.' Gakushu sadly smiled to himself, something that Karma caught before Gakushu quickly changed that into a toothy smirk.

"Interesting, then I won't pull any punches either." He declared as he turned his back and walked away.

'Well, that's done. I done what I can.' Gakushu let out a sigh, as he walked away from school grounds and away from Class-E. He froze and stopped in his path.

Gakushu noticed a certain student walking, and it was Ren Sakakibara. Or, should we say the shell of the boy, as the hazel haired boy acted in a zombie-like state. Gakushu felt his heart clench painfully as he watched him mumbled and chanted the words of hate against Class-E.

He wanted to end it, right here, right now. For Ren to go back to the way he was before, the boy who was passionate in the arts and poetry, the boy whose laughter made his heart flutter.

Gakushu walked to him, and about to gasp at the boy's back, "Ren-"

But then he stopped himself. Ren walked further and further away, as he gasped at nothing but air. He looked down on his hand, it was shaking as he blankly stared down. He felt the short shallow breathes, his head becoming light as the voices or sounds outside were drowned out. He felt he was choking and his eyes became irritated.

Gakushu snapped out and his head jolted up, taking one last look at Ren before walking away in the opposite direction. 'I'm so sorry, just a few more days! Just a few more days!'

Nagisa and Karma saw that scene. It looks like it there were more reasons why Gakushu wanted to take down his father.

* * *

It was a cloudy night, Gakushu sat on top of a building, looking down to the streets below while sitting on the ledge. He hummed to himself as he kicked the air, he was dressed in black double-breasted hooded coat with its hood up. It was only buttoned to the waist down, underneath was some military-styled white cargo pants. Matching this were some black boots tucked in and black leather gloves.

On his lap was a booklet, in his hands was a black smartphone that was acting as the boy's light source. The light reflected on his glasses that sat on his face, time was 10:45 PM.

"Yo~ Shu! Your awesome big brother is here!" A voice called from behind. And Gakushu glanced and see a man with light hair of white-platinum blonde, it was layered and the middle fringe that covered his forehead that a slight curliness that swayed to the left. Donned in a dark and well-fitted suit set matched with a dark trench-coat, black gloves and polished prada-shoes.

What stood out the most was behind through thick chic black glasses where the chartreuse phosphorescent that seemly glowed in the dark.

"It's Gakushu." Gakushu bluntly said and glanced back down to the alleyway. God he hated when that man uses that nickname of his. He ignored the sounds of the male's whines.

"But you let Antonio and Johnny call you Shuuie!" He whined, he started to shed some fake tears and Gakushu rolled his eyes.

"You're barely around, why should I care?" The strawberry blonde shrugged and turned his head back. 'Why should deal with this when I already have a red-version at school?'

The other snorted to this, "I can back early from my job and this is what I get."

"Go make Johnny jealous or something, don't bother me. I'm working here." Gakushu groaned, he rubbed the temples of his head to soothe the upcoming headache. He felt his disdain for him grew, even though he had no apparent reason for doing so.

'Well, he did snatched my strawberry jelly when we first met… then my chocolates, my strawberry shortcake… Oh and my pocky too!'

"Done the first part already. So, what's happening?" The man asked, as he went to sit next to the younger male. Gakushu passed the booklet to him while still maintaining eye-contact on the alley.

"Go read it yourself Ikeda." Gakushu ignored his cries as the man puckered up his lips to create a dramatic pout. "Geez, how the hell are you my senior?"

"How the hell is Grell our senior?" Ikeda cheekily mimic and retorted, flipping over the pages as he whispered 'complete' for each page, it was his turn to ignore the glare from the strawberry blonde.

"You win this time Ikeda." Gakushu muttered under his breathe, he grew more annoyed as Ikeda laughed into the night. He dug into his pockets and took a single bon-bon candy. He wrapped his piece of candy before popping it into his mouth.

"I love you too Shu." Ikeda gave a peck on Gakushu's soft cheeks. "Did Viktor gave those?"

"I swear to god Ikeda! I will break your ribs!" Gakushu yelled as he felt his face burnt. He clenched his fist, and it tightened when Ikeda burst into a laughing fit.

"Hhahahahhahahhahahahhaha!"

"Temper, temper." Ikeda playfully taunted, waving his finger around before flicking Gakushu's nose.

"I do not have a temper!" Gakushu yelled in denial, screaming into the man's ears, his face flushed like cherry tomatoes as he covered his nose with his gloved hands. Ikeda watched in wonderment of how red Gakushu's ears was.

'Cute.'

"You were saying?" Ikeda smiled back, Gakushu gritted his teeth, he was about to land a punch to his face and hopefully he was drop down off the building. And then the two heard a woman screaming.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Somebody help me!" A young adult, maybe around in her earlier twenties, with black short hair, she was running away from someone, and that person just caught up with her. "I beg of you! Help me!"

"Mikami Miwa?" Ikeda asked, looking down on the scene with a bored expression, as she is being dragged deep into the alley.

"That's the one." Gakushu said as he popped another candy, he was happy that it was strawberry flavoured. Ikeda passed the book back to the boy, their eyes never left from the scene down below.

They watched and did nothing as the hooded man strangled the poor girl, gripping tightly around her neck as she gasped out for air. The two just watched as the life slowly was drained out of her eyes.

"Say Shu, how's school? Made any new friends?" Ikeda asked out of nowhere, he brought out a can of soda and gave it to Gakushu. He brought out another can but this time it was beer. He popped it opened, "Add any more trees to the tally?"

"It's Gakushu." The boy sighed as he corrected the man once again, "It's the usual, dull. And no, and no, one person is only interesting."

"That's right, you have that anchor!" Ikeda boasted loudly as he patted Gakushu's back, and Gakushu felt a tick in his eye.

"I would had believed that excuse when you were 10 Shu." Ikeda boomed in laughter and Gakushu raised an eyebrow over his statement.

"Explain." Gakushu demanded.

"You used to only interacted with Rilliane because she was your main senior, and bla-blah blah, so on." Ikeda explained.

"You were so adorable then too, you followed Rilliane constantly like a newly hatched duckling for a month." Ikeda said, he puffed up his checks as he placed his hand over his mouth. "Nah, I think a puppy would suit you more." He further teased the boy and Gakushu could tell that he was hiding a smirk.

"Shut up!" Gakushu yelled, his face blushed into a shade of a tomato for a small moment. Ikeda was huffing away in laughter as he looked at Gakushu's ears turned red. He went to pinch the boy's ears but Gakushu quickly covered them with his hands, as he narrowed his eyes towards Ikeda.

"But you eventually, after a couple of month, became more open with us and you talked with all of us without some sort of agenda." Ikeda dug his arms into his trench-coat pockets.

"Why are you telling me this?" Gakushu cautiously asked, he eyed at Ikeda with suspicion.

"What? I can't reminisce the days when you first joined the Department? You were so cute then, and still is now." Ikeda pouted, and Gakushu felt his mouth twitching. He swore he could hear Karma's laughter in the background.

Ikeda eyed over to the scene back below with a thoughtful face. "Could had sworn that there was another girl who was strangled to death?" And then the face of realisation washed over him.

"Looks like we have a serial killer in hand." Ikeda mused, putting one leg over the other as he placed his hand on his left cheek. Looking down and watching, as if he was viewing a soap opera. "I'm guessing that this one is going to be his second victim."

Gakushu shrugged. "And that's not my problem. Can't be allowed to be involved in such matters without orders remember? Ikeda responded with some laughter.

"True, at least this town is going to be a bit more interesting. Never thought that your town would be so boring." Ikeda sang with a smile. "When are you going to have that American transfer, I missed having my little bro witness my awesomeness."

"I'm sure that there is a job calling for you in Paris or Brussels." Gakushu scoffed, by his side was medium sized black key. He held onto the handle as he got himself readied.

And the girl slowly stopped her struggles and slumped over, she had now passed on. The killer satisfied with his work, dropped the recently dead girl to the ground and left the scene of the crime.

'Back to work.' Gakushu thought. He swung his key that was probably acting as his weapon in director of the deceased girl. Then cinematic films came bursting out of her body, flying around as he watched the memories in each panel being played out. The dead girl looked up with a blank stare, as if she was watching her life being flashed back.

Gakushu watched and observed her Cinematic Records of her life story to her death. "Mikami Miwa, born in May 19th 1995. Died from strangulation on XX XXXX. Remarks none." Gakushu stamped a 'complete' stamp on her profile picture.

"That is the last one for tonight" Gakushu said as he closed the booklet, he reverted the massive key back into a keychain and re-attached it back on his phone. Back to the collection of keys. He stretched his arms upwards and letting out a yawn.

"Anything new lately? I heard around in the Department that you have a new assignment." Ikeda said, as he finished his can of beer.

"How did you-"

"Words travel fast." Ikeda said, he took aim and threw the can down to the alley, landing into the opened trashcan. "He shots and he scores."

"And you are the Department's precious cinnamon roll." Ikeda cheekily sang, he dug his gloved hand into Gakushu's strawberry blonde hair and ruffled it madly.

Gakushu tried to slap away the hand, after a good minute or so. "I don't even know what that means!" Gakushu yelled as he was quick to neaten the tangle mess Ikeda made. It didn't help with the boy's temper that Ikeda was laughing away, proud of his work.

"Look it up." Ikeda said with a toothy grin "So, what's the assignment?"

"Something about class E, I'm supposed to join that class. Do anything necessary the task said." Gakushu darkly muttered, glaring at the older male as he loosen the last knot.

"OMG, it is going to be your first spy mission! My little brother is growing up!" Ikeda squealed.

"If anything, you're my distant cousin." Gakushu said, he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"But Shu~"

"God damn it Ikeda! It's Gakushu! Ga-ku-shu!"

Ikeda laughed as he fell back, "Hahhahahhahahahhahahaha!" Ikeda started to roll on the floor with his arms clutching around his stomach. "Man! that temper never gets old!"

"I do not have a temper!" Gakushu angrily yelled at Ikeda's ear. Even as he scowled, it only made Ikeda laugh his heart out even more. Gakushu's scowl just made him more adorable than angry.

Ikeda stopped his rolling, he still laid on the floor as he left his legs dangling over the edge. He lightly punched the strawberry blonde's shoulder playfully. "So, what are you going to do? Maybe I could give some pointers?"

"You wish." Gakushu spat, ignoring the growing smiling on the male's punch-able face. "I'm going to have Class-E take majority rankings in the school, maybe I would give another student my first place?"

"The two birds, one stone approach." Ikeda whistled, and his eyes darken a bit as he let out a smirk. And no, it wasn't the signature cheeky smirk. "Finally it is about time that we are going to do something about that man who is somehow your father."

"Yeah…" Gakushu muttered and Ikeda eyebrow rose a bit.

"What's up? You're not yourself right now." Ikeda turned his head, watching Gakushu's back. "Works over and you haven't drunk your soda yet. You can tell me this stuff."

"It's nothing." Gakushu was quick to say, it was obvious to anyone and especially Ikeda that the boy was lying.

Ikeda sighed, "Remember that first Christmas we spread together?" He looked to Gakushu who remained quiet. "Even if you try to deny it, I could easily saw it through."

"So don't be afraid to seek or ask for help." Gakushu shyly turned his head around and met with his chartreuse phosphorescent eyes. Ikeda said with a straight face and no hesitantion in his neon-coloured eyes. "So, what's up?

Gakushu gave in to him, he turned his head back and look up to the cloudy sky, slightly shivering from the cold daft. "… I'm just happy that I would be his victim and nobody else, sure everyone else suffered up to now… but…"

"But you're the true victim here, right?" Ikeda answered for the boy. "Your eyes tells it as it is."

Ikeda groaned as he jolted up from his position, the strawberry blonde almost flinched from the surprise sudden movement "I will cut to the chase and say how it is. He is the reason why you walked on the same path of a reaper as I am."

Before Gakushu could say anything, Ikeda cut to him. "Don't you try to deny it."

"You don't even remember why you did it." Gakushu whispered, neither agreeing or denying his claims.

"Pff, I'm still here, same for Rilliane, An, Johnny, Gretel, Arthur, Noct, Ignis, Lucia, Ivan-" Ikeda began the listing before Gakushu interrupted him. If he let him continued, it was going to take into the night.

"Alright, I got the picture."

Ikeda looked into Gakushu's eyes behind his glasses, Ikeda's chartreuse phosphorescent eyes looking deep into his eyes. But he wasn't looking into violet eyes like amethyst eyes, instead he was looking in the small eye colour as himself. Into the colour chartreuse phosphorescent behind Gakushu's black framed glasses.

"It doesn't matter if I remember it or not, if I have all or no memories of my past life, I still committed suicide." Ikeda explained as he looked up to the night sky blanketed by the grey clouds. "We just did it through different means."

"I know…." Gakushu muttered, though it was still clear enough for the other to hear. "Then we are reborn as Grim Reapers, made to observe and judge humans when they come at death's door… as punishment."

It gave Gakushu another remainder. 'Oh yeah…. Maybe it is for the best that I distance myself from Ren now…'

"If you need any help? You know who to turn to."

"Thanks."

"So~ You're coming to the Department?"

"Yeah, I don't want to stay in that house anyway."

"I got this cool gift, do you think An will like it?" Ikeda showed off a pair of sunglasses with a golden frame that Gakushu could tell it was high-end, Dolce & Gabbana's DG2027B Sunglasses. Price tag, $383,609.

"Either way, it is going to make Johnny jealous." Gakushu said his opinion as he looked over after the gift before Ikeda place it back in his chest pocket.

"Good!" Ikeda cheered, giving Gakushu a smile that almost made him smile as well. "You know, I should really ask where Viktor buys his candies from."

And then Gakushu heard the rustle of a plastic packet.

'….What!?'

Gakushu quickly went and patted his pockets, only to find them strangely enough empty aside from his phone. Gakushu snapped back up to Ikeda who held a bag of pink wrapped bon-bon candies in his hands. The bastard was even eating one!

"Ikeda." Gakushu growled under his teeth, Ikeda only gave him a smile. "Give me back it, right now." Ikeda always liked to play around with Gakushu, it definitely reminded the strawberry blonde boy of Karma and not in a good way.

"There is a thing called 'sharing is caring' you know?" Ikeda pointed out as he was happily chowing on Gakushu's sweets. He then checked the time on his Swiss Watch, "Gosh, just look at the time. I'm late with my date with An."

"Thanks Shu, I will see you in the morning." Ikeda sang before he ran off by jumping to the next building.

"Ikeda!" Gakushu angrily yelled as he immediately stood from his spot. "Give me back my sweets!"

"Come and get it then!" Ikeda yelled from a distance. Gakushu took a couple of steps back, before he ran after the reaper as he leaped over the gap between the buildings with ease. This was nothing when you had to jump off a skyscraper at age 10.

"Ikeda!" Gakushu roared from the top of his lungs as he chased after the man.

"Run Forrest! Run!"

"God damn it Ikeda!" Gakushu yelled angrily. He was going to use all of his anger and frustrations on chasing after Ikeda. "Come back here!"

"Come one Shu, I'm going to be late with my date with An!" Ikeda laughed as he ran off and jumped over many of the gaps. Gakushu followed behind in pursuit of his senior of ten years.

"Bullshit! I know for a fact that An is still single!" Gakushu yelled over as the chase continued. "I swear to God that she to be with you!"

"Come one Shu! That just hurts!" Ikeda whined, "Even you are right about that."

"Ikeda!" Gakushu growled as he quickened his pace.

"Hahhahahahhaha!" Ikeda's laughter boomed. "Run Forrest, run!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Ikeda!" Gakushu yelled back with fury laced in his voice.

"Damn it Ikeda!"


	2. Into the Department

**Into the Department**

The persona that Gakushu adopted whether he was in school was never the true face of the strawberry blonde. Ask anyone in the Department and they will have a completely different view on the boy.

A Spaniard gave out his opinion. "Shuuie? I love the kid, everyone here does, he is so adorable that it rots my teeth. I am still trying to find that song he made about pudding when he was around 10… The only thing I would complain on is that he needs to make more friends at school. Sorry I need a tissue, my nose is bleeding again."

That same question was asked to an Australian reaper, she had jet black hair tied in a pony-tail. "He has that effect on almost everyone. Rilliane isn't as effected as she is his 'mother'. Gakushu is a sweet heart, I didn't know about his 'cold' act until last year. I though he was being rebellious."

"You were crying for the whole day An! You thought that giving him a bag of lollies would get the other Shuuie back!"

"Shut it Johnny!"

"Geez, when will you two fuck already?"

"Shut up Mark!" An and Johnny yelled together at their fellow Australian friend.

Ask the question to a girl with short blonde hair who came from the English Branch. "My Strawberry? Gakushu was always a 'cinnamon roll' at heart and he is a shy boy. I think it is humorous and cute that he tries to act as the cold and emotionless leader at school. Although it should had been clear as day that he was cuter than he was cool."

'It wasn't really to his classmates Gretel…'

"I like it when he test out my cakes, it gives me an edge against Peter. He has the biggest sweet tooth, so much so that he sparkles whenever he is around sweets." A question was asked to a man working in the kitchens of the Department. An agreed with him as well. "He's a nice boy. And he does have that temper of his. It has been said that part of his cold demeanour in school because he couldn't eat his sweets so he was grumpy most of the time."

"Gakushu has bit of a temper as much as he likes to deny it." A blonde woman from the German Branch whispered. "The first time I witness it was after Grell accidently smashing cake into his face, it is a miracle that the school is still standing. I would probably explode when I have to deal with his father every-day. Although I think also that his friend, Ren helped out a lot. He has the nickname of 'the Strawberry's anchor."

"From what I heard from Lucia, Gakushu managed to break Grell's nose, both of his arms and legs, fractured his spine and other internal injuries. And that was Lucia could think from the top of her head." A Russian reaper explained. "Although, what I don't like is how passive he was with his father. Have you not seen his textbooks, sure he is a Grim Reaper but his father didn't know that!?"

"One time, good old Ivan wanted to help Shu in his math homework that was assigned by his father." Ikeda recounted that pleasant memory. "Sure, good old Shu insisted that he was doing fine. Ivan insisted that he wanted to help. He ended up throwing the book down to the ground, saying that they were university level questions than for ones for high-school, better yet junior high."

"Ivan spent the next couple of hours swearing the crap in Russian." A man with a Bulgurian accent joined along in the conversation as he wrapped his arm over Ikeda's shoulders. "Any worse and Ivan would had personally went for that man. We had to call Lucia's husband go calm him down."

"I had to be called in, we get very heated in anything related to Gakuhou Asano, especially if it relates back to Gakushu." The German man with pastel green hair that covered the left side of his face. "I worry for him sometimes, I know he has his friends here in the Department but I think it would be nice if he could make friends his age. Although Gretel has the appearance of a teenager, she is still around 200 years old, it is the same for Noct as well."

"He is very nice, and we have a lot of things in common." A boy with a halo of fluffy black hair talked about his side of the story. "We like sweets, music and are unfortunate guinea pigs for Gretel's clothes. I guess you could say that we are like best friends, sadly I'm not around too much as I have a lot of work around Europe with Iggy. We talk or text a lot through our phones-"

"Oh Noct~ I have a new dress I need to test out~" A certain girl with short blonde hair sang.

"Why don't you look at the time!? I'll be late for my shift in Brussels, Iggy! Save me!"

"This way Noct!"

"And the ship has set sail." Gretel smiled to herself as she watched Iggy and Noct ran into the distance. "You should go ask Rilliane, she is the Strawberry's main senior. She was the only who took under her wing."

"Milady, what are you going to do with that dress?" A voice called out, a tall young man with neatly trimmed golden blonde hair came up to the girl.

Then Gretel puff her cheeks and pouted. "Arthur, I thought I told you that you will call me Gretel!" Gretel called out as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Sorry Mi- Gretel, it was out of habit." Arthur said.

"Gakushu-chan has changed a lot from that boy who first came to the Department." A female with long hazel brown hair said. "I would say that mask he puts up with is him, at least what could had been him if he was never untaught of his father's teachings."

"Although it would be nice if he was more comfortable in showing his emotions with us. Don't get me wrong, he does in his smiles and happier moments." Rilliane sighed. "But I know that he hides his tears away from me, he hates to appear weak in front of others. It breaks my heart seeing him to so, but we have a lot of time to un-teach that. It isn't healthy to shield yourself like that."

"Even if Gakushu-kun does cry, he often did so alone due to his father's lingering teachings. He could never allow himself to appear weak in front of others."Arthur explained solemnly.

"Between you and me, Shu is only comfortable around me." Ikeda said. "It begin the first year he came to the Department during Christmas. Ever since then, I'm the only one who could see his tears and have him talk about the. You know, I can't wait for the day when Gakuhou Asano dies. When that day comes, Shu would have no reason to abide to that man's teaching."

"Although, I don't know about that Ren kid though. Once that day comes, Shu would lost his last connection in that world."

Rilliane gave out a chuckle, "I remember that night when Gakushu-chan was talking about him during our nightly soul collecting shifts. I thought to myself that it sounded like a friend and I teased him that Ren was his 'first friend'."

"His face was red as a tomato when he admitted that Ren was his first friend… It would me three months to found that out. Because someone here likes to hide secrets from me." Rilliane gave dirty looked over to Gretel who battered her eyelids to here. That night, the hazel haired woman spent the rest of the night cursing at the blonde English reaper for keeping her out of the circle.

Greel had a smug look and Rilliane felt to a calm face. Everyone around the two swore that they saw sparks radiating as they eyed at each other.

"Yeah, they had been like this since Rilliane took the motherly role for Gakushu." An explained. "I think Ren is a nice kid, it is good to see that Gakushu has at least one friend in that horrid school."

* * *

"Ikeda! Give me back sweets!" Gakushu yelled from the top of his lungs, now he and Ikeda were running in the halls of the Department. Ikeda only responded back with fits of laughter.

"Hahahhahahahhahahahhahahaha!"

The Department, it was the organisation of the Grim Reapers, it has branches for every single country in the world from Australia to Sudan, from China to over in France. And there were many Divisions each reaper was designated it, Gakushu worked in the Retrieval Division, the main duty was to collect souls and transfer them to the Judging Division. Whether if they pass, reincarnate or whatever.

There was the Identification Division that works closely with the Retrieval Division. Forsenic, Medical and Technology Divisions on the scientific sides of the Divisions and they sound just like they were.

There were other names for the organisation, the Grim Reaper Department or GRD for short. But everyone called it as 'the Department'. Because of the nature of a Grim Reaper was to be vague, mainly it is fun to mess around with the humans who knew almost nothing about the Department and its' inner workings.

Although those in top positions in government knew the existent of the Department, they would never imagine a 14 year old strawberry blonde boy chasing a grown adult for his sweets. To the Department, it was just as any regular day.

"Run Forrest! Run!" Ikeda laughed as he ran.

"They are at it again…" Johnny sighed to himself as he watched the two in their chase. "He comes back from an assignment and he goes off to steal his sweeys."

"Damn it Ikeda!" Gakushu yelled angrily.

"They are like siblings." James voiced, watching the pair as they chase around in circles.

Then the strawberry blonde remembered something. 'Wait! I still have that drink!' The soft drink that was offered and remained unopened was in his coat pockets. When Ikeda turned his head around to give a smirk, and something collided to his face, it was cold and hard. And it really hurt. Gakushu aimed and threw a can of soda right into Ikeda's face.

Many of the reapers hissed in pain as they watched, "Oooooooooooooooooo."

In that moment of distraction, Gakushu leaped and tackled him to the ground and they started to wrestle. As they slammed down to the floors of the Department, onto of their logo, Gakushu shakily extended his arm out for his candy. "G-give it back!"

"Come on Shu! Little brother here needs to learn how to share." Ikeda grunted, as he tried to push the strawberry blonde off. His hand was on Gakushu's face, it was quite funny.

"Screw you! I'm not your little brother!" Gakushu screamed into the man's ear and hand. He clawed his way to the male. Before he lunged after the other, for some reason he felt that his feet wasn't topping the ground.

"This again, Gakushu? Iked?" A deep voice in a montone asked. He was dressed in all black suite, with a matching tie and polished shoes which were the typical uniform and colours associated with the Department. It was William T. Spears.

'Crap! It's William!' Gakushu internally panicked. He realised that both he and Ikeda was lifted up by the man. Gakushu felt a grip on his back, he saw that Ikeda was carried by his infamous Death Scythe, the pruner.

"Sup Zeus!" Ikeda used his nickname for William. He remained unaffected by the glare sent his way. "How's it going, did Grell messed up with the paperwork again?"

"It trust that the two of your have calmed down now." William said as he slowly the two back down, the pruner extended back to its regular size with a click. "Now give him back the bag."

"Righto." And Ikeda casually threw the bag back to Gakushu.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place!?"

"What? The chase is fun."

Both neither of the three could say a word, Ikeda rushed off elsewhere and leaped for a certain girl with black hair tied in a pony-tail.

"An! Pat me! Pat me!' Ikeda cheered like a five year old as he ran to the black haired woman. "Praise me!"

"Hello Ikeda." She greeted her junior with a gracefully and gentle smile as she patted him like an overgrown puppy. Ikeda whines slightly as he nuzzled in closer in her hand, her fingers cards through his light-hair locks.

William and Gakushu blankly stared at the scene, before the strawberry blonde reaper sighed. "I'm going to hand in my booklet to front desk," Gakushu tiredly said as he walked away.

All it was left was William, him and all of the stares of surrounding reapers. Many had popcorn as it was being passed around as the masses watched.

"Get back to work!" William yelled and the reapers scurried off.

It was another day at the Department.


	3. A Reaper's Breakdown

**A Reaper's breakdown**

The sounds of his phone blasting at his ear was too early for the morning, "Please… five more minutes." Gakushu grumbled as he buried himself more underneath the comfort of his warm blanket. But his alarm didn't listened to his pleads.

Gakushu sighed to himself as he groggily reached his arm out to the nightstand and grabbed his phone. "Alright already!" He yelled at his phone, "I'm up! I'm up!" And he turned off the alarm.

He dragged himself up from his blanket cocoon and he let up a stretch with his hand still holding his smartphone. He let out a yawn before covering his mouth. He reached over again for his glasses, and as soon he placed them on, he was confused.

He was met with strawberry themed products around the place, a desk filled with opened textbooks and photos on his billboard plastered. Even his blanket had strawberry prints. It was unlike of the lifeless and bland room adored in rewards, trophies and school books that he was familiar with.

'Why am I in my room at the Department?' He mentally asked himself as he scanned around the area. And then it clicked with the strawberry blonde, 'Oh yeah! I didn't want to stay in that house last night.'

His room at the department was as spacious as the room next door. His room consisted of floor one and floor two upstairs. On ground level when you first enter the room, on the right was a modern kitchen, the long marble counter had barstools on the side. One the left was essentially the living room, with a coffee table and underneath was a Hello Kitty head carpet with a white corner couch that looked that it cost an arm and a leg.

There was a spiral staircase that led upstairs where his bedroom was, if you shifted a bit, you could see there was the balcony. With even more of strawberry themed items around the place. Behind that were bookshelves, books from graphic novels, to dessert books to dictionaries.

And then Gakushu let out a shrug as he dragged himself out of bed, 'He was at school overnight, it was safe for me to stay here.'

And so began his usual morning routine. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and neatened his bed hair. Since today was a school day, he had to wear his violet coloured contacts, back to his human eye colour instead of his glasses. Gakushu dressed himself in his school uniform, a white collar shirt matched with a black tie, his navy-grey blazer, and pants held up by a black belt.

He picked up his school bag and walked out of the bathroom and out of his room. He closed the door behind him, outside of the door, it looked as well spacing was limited inside when you see all the other doors down the hallway. That possibly inside was New York like apartment room.

'You got to love the reaper logic around here.'

* * *

"Gakushu-chan." A voice called out to him, he turned around and saw a woman cladded in a black suit with long hazel brown hair walking up to him. I got you a piece." She held out blueberry muffin to the boy.

"Good morning Rilliane." Gakushu chirped and he gladly took the muffin off her hands, "Thank you."

Rilliane smiled widely as Gakushu took a bite of the muffin. "Say… do you have time for breakfast together?"

The strawberry blonde nodded. "It's 7:00, I have time." So now the two were dining at the nearest food court from the numerous countless others. They ate at the cafeteria styled tables, Gakushu holding his tray while Rilliane had another cup of coffee.

Gakushu decided for breakfast to have freshly cooked waffles topped with cream and strawberries, finished with some Earl Grey tea. On some side, he also decided to have a plate of scones.

"I'm sorry to say this but I will have to be gone for China in a week." Rilliane let out a sigh as she sipped her brewage.

Gakushu stopped his eating, his mouth slightly gaped opened with his violet eyes widened. Even his hand holding his fork froze in mid-air. "China? What for."

"A conference, for maybe a week. It's about the education system and what should be done to reduce adolescences suicides." Rilliane then groaned as she slammed her head on the cafeteria table.

As she furthered explained, Gakushu slowly ate while somewhat maintaining eye-contact to his main senior. "And I have the meeting today. I want to spend more time together, but no~ I have to be first-pick for 'the meeting'."

"So, who else got unlucky?" The strawberry blonde asked.

Rilliane lifted her head up. "Ignis, Noct, Gilbert. Ben from the American Branch and Matt from New Zealand." She listed as Gakushu nodded to each name.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh~ Hate to be you right now." A voice that made Gakushu's eye twitched called out.

"Man! I'm glad that I'm not you Rillie." Ikeda exclaimed as he sat right next to Rilliane and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He ignored Gakushu's glare, he wasn't sure if it was because of his awesome presence or this gesture.

'Probably both.' The second part Ikeda understood perfectly well, because he was the same for his main senior. 'I swear if Johnny gets any closer to An. I should go to the café this morning.'

"And good morning to your Ikeda." Rilliane mumbled as she drowned another cup of extra strong black coffee. "Please behave, it's too early in the morning."

"With my newspaper and puns, of course I will behave. Don't I always?" The light haired man sang as he tossed his morning paper on the table. Rilliane let out a sigh and feared of what would happen next the moment she left the food court for her meeting.

'And that's another date with Thomas off.' She mentally groaned. Her reaper eyes looked over to her junior, Gakushu as he glared at Ikeda and the other returning a playful smile. It was well know that Ikeda and Gakushu has the most interesting relationship dynamic, it was best described as a brotherly relationship. One of those 'I hate you but I love you too' brotherly relationships she saw in a lot of media she watched.

A common gag between the two is Ikeda stealing something from the strawberry blond, mainly the boy's sweets and the chasing starts. It usually ends with Ikeda having broken ribs, yesterday's was had a rare ending. It first started when Ikeda ran off with his jelly on their first meeting, Gakushu broke three of the man's ribs that day.

Since then, Gakushu was always suspicious around An's junior and it didn't help that Ikeda would always start the chase to tease the boy's sweet tooth. 'It was cute but the Department want the two to get along.' Rilliane remembered the organisation's wishes from Gakushu's first Christmas here.

"Gakushu-chan, your waffles are going to get cold." She reminded and she took another sip. Gakushu snapped out from his glare and went back to eating. He cautiously looked up to Ikeda and the other smiled at him before going to read his newspaper. Things are going well and Rilliane sighed a moment of relief.

"Rilliane." A boyish voice called for her. She spoke too soon.

"Oh! Gakushu, hi!" A boy with a halo of black soft hair walked up to the group. He was around the same height as Gakushu. His reaper uniform consist of a coat similar to the strawberry blonde, with buttons on both sides and two smaller slits as well. It is shorter, but has longer sleeves that "compensate" for that difference. One side probably has the buttons for a cool look and loose thigh length shorts are accompanied with thigh high stockings. It was a very cute and boyish look for Gakushu's best friend.

"Hey Noct!" Gakushu smiled as he waved to his friend. Rilliane took a picture of this moment, it was too beautifu for words.

"I need Rilliane, the meeting is going to start soon." Noct said as Rilliane slumped a bit.

She slowly rose up from her seat. "… Let me get another espresso."

"Make sure that she doesn't drink cup number 95 like last time." Ikeda yelled over to the pair as they walked away.

"I will try." Noct shouted back.

"And behave yourself Ikeda." Rilliane called out, "I expect that all of your ribs remain unbroken today."

"You got it." Ikeda cheered as he saluted to Rilliane, he turned to Gakushu. "So, alone at last?"

"Spare me." Gakushu scoffed as he now quicken his pace, eating his breakfast before Ikeda snatch a couple of bits. "Don't you have a job waiting for you?"

Ikeda shrugged as he went back to his paper, "Nah~ I'm on a break right now. I had planned my trip to Dubai months beforehand so the Zeus is going easy on me… Hopefully."

"Mama needs a gold-plated Ferrari~" Ikeda said with a sly smirked on his face. Gakushu was praying that he wouldn't get a camel like last time. Yes, Ikeda brought Gakushu a camel once last time and Gakushu's group of reaper friends didn't know what to do with the creature.

Ikeda's spending habits were ridiculous, not only that but it was a double edge sword for Gakushu. If the man took him out to eat at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles, then that same man would buy him a camel.

It provided a source of entertainment for the reapers, mainly from the reactions of also Gakushu's friends, Johnny and Ignis. There was a long history between Johnny and Ikeda that it may or may not relate to girl An. One time he brought Noct a Heintzman Crystal piano, it made Ignis jealous for days although he hide it well from Noct. Everyone else, it was really obvious and Gretel was quite happy.

Gretel by the way was another of Gakushu's friend, a reaper from the English Branch with short blonde hair and the appearance of a 15 year old girl. She has almost 200 years of experience under her belt, Noct was once her junior.

"Don't go buying me gifts like last time." Gakushu sighed as he finished the last of his waffles. Now next to the scones.

"I make no promises."

"Go make Johnny jealous-"

And then a scream cut off Gakushu's words. He, Ikeda and everyone else in that food work snapped in the direction of the voice. A young boy, with short dark purple hair donned in a simple dark suit was slammed to the ground.

"Mama! Mama! Where are you!?" The young boy cried out as he threw the reaper off of him. "Where are you!? I will be good, don't leave me!"

"Riku! You have to calm down!" A reaper came to restrain the boy as more and more others came in to help.

"Mama! Mama!"

"I will be good! I'll be a good boy!"

As soon as Ikeda and Gakushu quickly shot up from their seats, already a team of reapers came to restrain the boy who was crying out for his mother. Over and over again, even after she had been dead for years. "Mother!? Mummy!"

Seeing that already a person donned in a medical lab-coat was on screen, Gakushu and Ikeda as well as some others went back to sit down and continue on their business from earlier. As if it was a normal occurrence.

"What a great way to start the morning." Ikeda sarcastically spoke, going back to reading his stock markets as if it was a regular occurrence. "A mental breakdown." And he flipped to the next page.

Gakushu looked up to Ikeda as he went back to eat, he could see as much Ikeda attempted to play it off, he could see the hurt in the man's face. Gakushu knew what those words the boy screamed reminded Ikeda of someone. Someone he held so dear and looked up to.

"What do you think was the trigger?" Gakushu asked.

"Probably something that reminded him of his mum, maybe it sunk in too much." Ikeda shrugged. "He snapped." And he flipped to the next page.

Gakushu nodded, and the two remained quiet. He continued to eat but at best he was more playing with his food at this point. Until Gakushu took lead of the conversation once more, "Hey Ikeda?"

"Yeah?" Ikeda popped his head out of his paper.

"Do you think I could end up as Riku? Like Lucia?"

Ikeda's eyes widened and he placed his paper down on the table. "That's right the first time you saw when episode was before you went to America with me, first year was it?"

"Yeah, I haven't been a regular in the halls here… I was more around in town. I didn't even knew anything about it before." Gakushu answered.

"It's fine, you had an earlier dispatch and everyone else over there didn't knew that you OD." Ikeda waved the boy off as assurance, then he chuckled lightly. Not the laughter Gakushu would usuall associate with him, but a kinder one that best came from An. "And your main group intended to hide it from you to enjoy at least one year of a good childhood. You had a shitty childhood."

"Understatement." Gakushu snorted with a small smile. And he went down into memory lane.

* * *

When Gakushu had only been a reaper for almost a whole year, he discovered one of the many dark secrets of the Grim Reaper. During the school holidays, his father would 100% be out of the country for meetings concerning about his school.

It allowed Gakushu the freedom to stay at the Department than that lifeless nest of what his father called a home. The boy would usually be at the Department's central building that connected to all of the Divisions and Branches. It was the place where reapers could easily go from Japan, to France and to America with a simple teleportation key under a minute. Or like many others, just walk, it wasn't that far of the distance or like many others, use the Department's inbuilt metro system.

He was reading on his reports of his hometown, Kungigaoka town. Underneath that was his collection booklet as he waited to hand it in at front desk. Rilliane usually did this for him, she was his main senior and most often paired up with him in his retrieval shifts but Gakushu liked doing it himself. His usual routine consisted of checking the list first before using his hard-copy booklist.

It was tradition to pair up a junior and their main senior together. And for retrieval's shift, this traditional was quite flexible. So if he wanted to, Gakushu could either do it alone if he was town in his hometown, or with someone else from his main group of friends. He didn't mind if Rilliane was paired up with him and she had said that it was good for him to socialise with the other reapers anyway.

On this day, he had the perfect conditions in hand, no school due to the holidays and his father was out of town for business. The strawberry blonde decided to take on the early shift and wasn't paired up with anyone. There wasn't much work in Kungigaoka town that helped to convince William T. Spears of the Management Division to allow Gakushu do some sole work. He only collected four souls and all being the elderly.

Gretel once said that her little Strawberry was growing up to be a 'big boy' while he was reading his list of souls on his smartphone, claiming that he was doing his alone.

Rilliane had been trying to let Gakushu get a bit more experience now that the holidays were here. She was hoping that a small transfer to the Americas for a period of time would be good for him. She was currently working out the details on when the boy would do it, if he wanted to.

Gakushu said yes with the amount of free time he hand now. It didn't help that Ren was almost out of the country for the United States, he said it was on family matters. Gakushu and his friends had been meaning to go to Disneyland together. What the two didn't know that Ikeda would be the one supervising that transfer when the transfer came around in the near future.

As Gakushu waited in line filled with other reapers of all sorts of backgrounds to hand in their report at front desk. He was about to check his phone for the list for his night shift, then his head was suddenly filled by an ear-piercing scream. He and many others turned to where the scream from.

One of the main doors used by teleportation keys that were within the Department, within the Grim Reaper realm, rather than the Human realm. It was opened to reveal two persons Gakushu knew, a German and a Russian, their names where Lucia and Ivan.

Gakushu could see the struggling on Ivan's face, his curly black hair was even messier and he wore a black military styled uniform.

Lucia's appearance was dishevelled, her long blonde hair tangled in knots as it covered her face. Her chartreuse phosphorescent eyes were red and puff, telling Gakushu that the blonde had been crying and she was still crying here and there. Her glasses were strained from her tears and he watched as Lucia tried to free herself from her friend.

"Let me of me! Let go! I have to find him!" Lucia struggled under Ivan's hold as he could barely kept her constrained under his grip. His arms wrapped around her reaper uniform, a military uniform.

Ivan yelled, "Medic! I need medic! I need the Ward" Ivan yelled in the building, as his pale face held a panic look. As soon as he said the 'keyword', people around Gakushu rushed into the scene. Gakushu looked around, as he saw that those who went were mainly seniors rushing in to help.

"Help me! I need to find my baby!" Lucia continued to yell as more people came in to restrain her.

"Where is my baby!?" She cried out, she thrashed around as people began to surround her and Ivan.

Gakushu stood there, frozen in his place like the many those who had lesser experience than the seniors as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. 'What on Earth is happening?' It was shocking for Gakushu as he knew Lucia personally. She was the type of person who was always cheery, happy and very relaxed with a hint of flirt for her beloved husband, Wolfie now and then.

"My baby! Where is my baby!?" Lucia continued to scream out her words. Gakushu thought she was just like a fanatic person, crying and screaming out her words. Someone who was trying to free herself from the grips of many reapers attempting to calm her down.

Like a mother who was trying to find her lost child.

A team from the Medical Ward quickly came over in pure white lab coats came to the screaming woman and injected a sleeping agent into her. Administering the drug was a man Gakushu knew as Kim-Tae sik. Lucia as she slowly drifted away into unconsciousness, Lucia continued her mumbling as tears rained down from her reaper eyes.

"Let go of me… I have to find my baby…" Lucia's final words before she entered into the world of darkness.

Ivan carried the sleeping and drugged Lucia in his arms and was followed the medical team down the hallways. Many of the senior reapers around him acted as if nothing happened, as if was an everyday occurrence. While the juniors such as Gakushu was confused about the scenario that just played out.

'What just happened?' Gakushu thought to himself after witnessing such a scene, he needed answers and thankfully, one came to him.

Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he overheard a conversation from those who helped to restrain the German woman. "Another one." One reaper said sadly as he talked to his co-worker next him.

"What do you think triggered it?" Another reaper asked to his co-worker. The other only shrugged to indicate that he didn't know.

Gakushu decided it would be best for him to hand in his report first to calm himself down before seeing his friend.

As soon he handed in his report, he hurried his way to the Medical Ward where he went to the counter. "What room is Lucia Mühe in?" He asked, not bothering to give a charming smile to the secretary as he would if he was in the Human realm.

"Oh you must be Rilliane's boy." The secretary quickly rose up from her seat with a key in hand, and she opens the door behind her. Using the key, the door reveals another Ward, "Are you coming as well, Gretel?"

Gakushu turned around to see Gretel and she nodded. "Yes. I will also be guiding Gakushu-kun. Let's go." Gretel went into the door with Gakushu quickly followed behind.

"What just happened Gretel?" Gakushu asked as he quickened his pace to walk side by side with Gretel.

"I was hoping it would be a long time before you witness something like that." Gretel answered with a sad smile. As the two continued to walk down the white halls of the Ward, Gakushu could see the patients in each room through the large glass panels in each one.

One certain patient catches his eye and it was a certain someone from the Australian Branch. "An?"

The 18 year old was sitting in the corner and wearing a hospital gown. Her usual group of friends James, Johnny and Mark stood outside of the glass panel watching her in concern as she mumbles her words. "I'll be good… I'll be good."

Gretel walked past the group and Gakushu followed right beside her while he looked back to what he just saw. A reaper dressed in white went to the group. And before he turned back to Gretel, he saw Ikeda dashing down to the group, out of breathe.

"This is the Mental Ward specifically for reapers experiencing the 'breakdown'." Gretel explained and finally the two finally reached to the room where Lucia is housed at, room 54. Lucia was now conscious, wearing a hospital gown while continued her cries as she sat in her room. Ivan stood outside of her room and was watching his friend continuing her sobs through the glass.

"Breakdown?" Gakushu almost let his fear emitted in his words but he stopped himself in time. He couldn't allow himself to appear at such a moment. He couldn't allow himself to.

"Yes, a reaper's job can be quite depressing after a while. You are force on the job to watch people's regrets and attachments when you're on shifts." Gretel greeted the Russian and he faintly smile to the two, before placing his gaze back on Lucia. "Eventually some just snap…"

Ivan ignored interfering with the conversation of the two, knowing that Gakushu has now learnt one of the darkest aspect of a Grim Reaper. It was best for the strawberry blonde boy to know now. He continued to watch his Lucia's breakdown while waiting for Wolfie to come and help calm down her.

Lucia soon turned to the group, her eyes widening when she saw Gakushu Asano. "My baby!" She ran to the boy and was stopped by the glass wall in front of her. Nevertheless, Lucia smiled as she looked at Gakushu who was deeply confused.

"My baby, my baby." She repeated her words over and over again. It looked like she was trying to touch Gakushu's face behind the glass panel. Wolfie finally arrived at room 54 and went inside alone into the room to comfort his significant other. It looked like a child being comforted by her parent with Lucia resting on Wolfie's lap.

For some reason, Gakushu felt envious of her and he ignored a voice called out to him from the deepest depths of his mind.

Gretel and Gakushu watched the scene, unmoving and Gretel continued her explanation. "Not everyone has a breakdown but anything can trigger it."

"Those with regrets or desires are more prone. Maybe some dark memories can do the trick as well? I'm not too sure myself." Gretel's chartreuse phosphorescent eyes reflected on the glass panel as she looked at Lucia, the same for Gakushu.

"No-one knows when it will come but it goes like clockwork. Some have annually or monthly or something just triggers it. So a partner is the least likely chance to snap is assigned to ensure that if one does in a middle of a shift, that person could drag the other back into the Department." Ivan now joined in the conservation, he glanced at the boy before his reaper eyes reverted back to Lucia again.

"But what was we do know is that once someone has their first breakdown then we expect more to come." Gretel's words rang in Gakushu's head as he could hear it repeat itself over and over, remembering it word for word.

Over the course of the next couple of years, Gakushu learnt that Rilliane was a victim to this as well. He remembered watching her scribbling drawings of faces as he watch her behind the glass panels. "What colour?" She repeated those words, she was trying to find out what colour of her eyes once were when she was human.

You might ask, 'Why not just show her a picture back when she was human?' This couldn't work, for when she saw it, there is only blackness covering her face on the photo. She couldn't see who she once was, for body or her mind just blocked it out.

Eventually, Rilliane's desires built up on each other before making her snap.

Gakushu also learnt why Lucia's breakdown started, as it was her desire to become a mother. However a reaper's body could and will never allow that. It was disturbing for him to hear that it was one of the most common reasons why many other reapers across the Branches have a mental breakdown. For Lucia's case, it can come out of nowhere so Ivan must be by her side, especially when she adventured outside of the Department.

After someone is calmed from their 'burst', it was acted like if it never happened. At first, Gakushu thought it was strange. But at the same time, he was relieved as it wouldn't make the conversations or interactions with said one awkward. After a bit of deduction, Gakushu had realised that this sort of thing was now a normal occurrence to the Department and would always be. It is just accepted as a part of life since the first reaper came to their door.

Some reapers are able to break out from their breakdown, but only after many, many years. That was why it has been said that the first 50 years of a reaper is one of the most dangerous times. As the percentages of breakdowns are much higher. That was what Gretel told him.

Gakushu soon learned to accept this as a part of life as a Grim Reaper, for nothing can be done to stop such a thing. All that he can do was to help calm them from their breakdown, restrain them if one snapped or just watch.

For Lucia's case where they learnt that Lucia in her unbalanced mental state views Gakushu as her 'lost' son. So he would act as her's. If it calmed her, if it helped her cope then he will do it.

Gakushu just hoped that he wouldn't be the next victim. He remembered that Gretel has desires, and hasn't experienced one single breakdown in her 200 years of experience. She possibly might never will have one now that she passed the 50 year mark.

Gakushu hopes that he was the same as her.

* * *

"Gakushu-kun!" A familiar voice called out to him out of nowhere, and out of his flashblack as she hugged him.

"Gretel!" Gakushu voiced in surprise. He turned around to see a girl with short blonde hair and her signature ribbon on top.

"Isn't it 8:20 right now?" She asked. Gretel and Ikeda stared at the boy who grew quiet as he stared to the girl.

A couple of minutes passed. "… Fuck! I'm going to be late!"

Gakushu ignored the sounds of Ikeda's booming laughter as he ran down the halls of the Department.


	4. His story

**His story**

Before Junior High started, Gakushu spotted many difference of himself from other students around him. Because that he had to be number one in everything, academics or sports, he found it so alien when other praised their children for not getting 100 percent on their tests. For passing a test or subject.

"You can do better next time but good job son." One father commented on his son's test with a B grade.

"I'm so proud of you." A mother praised her child for getting an A- grade.

"You did your very best, I know that because you studied hard for that test." Another said when his child had gotten a C for their test.

These were some of the examples he heard from parents. If he gets one mark off from perfection, then he was to be subjected to ridicule by his father. And no matter how "perfect" he was, he would never be praised by that man.

He lost hope, he threw himself into the work just to get a hint of recognition but it never came. He decided to become number one for his father, but it never satisfied the young boy, as it was the weight he had to endure. He had to do best in cram school, volunteer work, town council meetings and outside classes from school. He was so tired, he worked late into the night, and he had the dark circles to prove it which he hidden away with make-up. If anyone noticed, nobody asked.

He envied the children his age, the children in his school, who hangs out with their friends without too much care in the world, while he was struck and enclosed in the four walls of his room, studying until his next class came. Like the words of that Prussian noble who died young at age 10,  _"This room is my world."_

One day from his way to school, he spotted a family of three playing in the local park, what caught his attention was the little boy. When the boy, around the age of four fell down and scrapped his knee, he started to cry. His father and mother rushed in and comforted him, Gakushu envied that small boy when he was hugged by his father.

He created a mental image with him and his father doing the same as what he saw. But his father would had never done such a thing, Gakushu would never be comforted, but instead he was criticised for being so weak.

'What's it like to be hugged? To be comforted? To be loved unconditionally?' Gakushu continued his train of thought as he returned onto the path to his school.

'Why am I not allow that?' Gakushu sat at his desk as he tuned out of his teacher's lesson.

'Why do I have to be perfect?' Gakushu looked down at the test given back to the teacher, on the top corner was written in red, 100%. 'Why do I have to be number one? Why do I have to get 100% at everything?'

'Why…?' Gakushu remembered the words of the other parents and what they said to their children. Their words overlapped, it caused some discomfort for him, but he hid it well from his peers and teachers behind a mask.

'Why…?' Gakushu stared at the school mirror with a frown. His violet eyes dulled over, no longer was it bright with life, but sullen with grey and suddenly the mirror cracked.

'Why am I the only one that has to do this!?'

Eventually he snapped, such pressure would break a young child. He blankly stared down on his hand as it dripped out blood, he couldn't feel the pain nor could he cry anymore…

This conflicted the young boy, his teachers said that grades weren't everything while his father said the opposite. He was stuck on a pathway of two ideals and he didn't know what to choose, his father or himself. He wanted to escape from this confliction battling inside of him. However he knew that his father would never allow such a thing, it would mean that his son was weak.

So Gakushu instead hid behind a mask of formality, it was the norm for him, he never talked to anyone and especially his father of how he really felt. This feeling of his that was ripping him apart, and no-one noticed it. The world felt so colourless, so lifeless, and dull, as Gakushu could only now see greys.

Even at such a young age, he knew that his life ahead of him looked so bleak. His father was too strong! Gakushu could never escape from him, he was for certain, forever as a display doll to show off for his father, he would forever be in his shadow. To be dressed and made into his father's liking. He was facing a life-time of work and fake politeness, and all while feeling empting inside. He knew that this would continue on for the next phase of his education, one after the after.

The boy couldn't bare living such a meaningless life, one that was devoid of any joy or love. He couldn't bare living in a world that was colourless to him.

This feeling inside him continued to grow and he continued to hide it. He did what he was expected to do as his father wanted him, then the long school holidays came and Gakushu's ultimate plan will be soon completed.

And so on that path he walked, where he was stuck on the crossroad, he diverted away from his father and finally decided of what he wanted. He decided that he wanted to be selfish and he knew what he must to do.

Gakushu always loved nature, they never expected much of him or hold high expectations for him. Months before the holidays came, he planned to have a small camping trip in the forest alone. At the same time, his father would be out of the country for meetings concerned about his school. The strawberry blonde boy packed everything he needed and without a second thought from his father thankfully, he set off to the rural side of Japan.

On the way to the bus stop, he forged a medical note and went to a pharmacy far from his father's prying eyes. The pharmacy thought nothing of it, they merely thought that he was on an errand for his parents. Three bottles of sleeping pills were brought and Gakushu went to his final destination.

He took the bus, the morning became the afternoon as Gakushu eat his lunch. He watched the passing scenery without a care. He noticed that he could see the blue in the sky.

'So this was the feeling that the others were feeling…'

Gakushu arrived at a forest, somewhere generally unknown and it was perfect for him. As he walked deeper into the forest, he soon spotted the prefect spot to sit at. He felt no fear or apprehension, just a dull sense of relief that he would be leaving this meaningless life behind.

Who knows? Maybe he would have a better chance in the next life?

He held hope in his heart for that. He didn't care about anyone here in this world and nobody cared about him. Nobody cared for him truly, no-one…

With a bottle of water to help swallow, he consumed the pills that was enough to kill a healthy adult. As he took the pills, he watched the blue eye slowly turned into a brilliant golden orange as the sun set.

'How pretty…' Gakushu could no longer speak as if his voice left him, he was amazed of the blend of colours as he looked up.

Before the effects of the pills kicked in, he though back at any sort of happy memories he could find, other than his achievements, and even then it wasn't satisfying for him. And he couldn't find any, nothing, he felt no happiness in his life.

His brain slowly became numb, his eyes became heavy as they urged him to close, and he felt as if he was floating away from the world outside. This was probably the happiest he felt in a long time, if ever. He took one final glance to the world of colour. Gakushu slowly drifted away and he accepted of his eternal slumber with open arms.

At age 10, Gakushu Asano committed suicide by overdose of sleeping pills, as he laid in the forestry, surrounded by small animals with a small smile on his face.

'At else I wouldn't be so alone.' He thought before his last breathe was uttered.

He would never expect that he would ever open his eyes again, that next time he would wake up, but he did. He would wake up in a white room in a white bed. At first, he was too confused to be scared but quickly afterwards the fear kicked in.

Did his father caught him?

His eyes couldn't seem to focus properly with his blurred and terrible vision. He certainly didn't remember of having terrible eyesight. Or did the white shining bright against his eyes was helping.

'Was it the pills?' Gakushu attempted to rationalise his predicament.

And he would never expect a woman cladded in black, who sat by his bed saying, "Hello Gakushu Gakushu, you are our youngest Grim Reaper I have seen yet."

Gakushu turned in the direction of the woman's voice, all he saw was the blurred figure of hazel brown and black.

"I will be the one who is guiding you the ropes of your new life now." She said as she slowly placed the circular glasses over his eyes. Now Gakushu's vision became clear and he saw in front of him, a young adult woman with long hazel brown hair, looking at him with piercing chartreuse phosphorescent eyes and a gentle yet sad smile.

"I am your main senior, my name is Rilliane."

* * *

_"My name is Rilliane-"_  Her voice echoed as Gakushu sat in the exam room, as the memories of his past as a human flashed before his eyes. He was looking down at his math paper, going through each and every one of them at a painfully slow pace.

It was sad to think that life for him only got better the moment he took his pills, he met with Ren and became friends with him. He made more friends at his workplace after some unlearning of his father's teachings begun. There was a popular saying amongst his friends.

_"It took Gakushu a day to accept his role as a Grim Reaper._

_It took him a week to discover his love for sweets._

_It took him a month to graduate his classes._

_It took him a month and a day to make his first (human) friend._

_It took him two months to learn how to smile for real again._

_It took him six month to have the word 'friend' to be easily said._

_It took him a year to learn how to ask for help again._

_It took him two years to learn how to cry and to hug again._

_And it took him four years to perfect his act as the Chairman's perfect son."_

Gakushu shrugged, 'What can you do about it?' Although he ignored that lingering feeling of want in his chest. Although Gakushu would never imagine that she and others like her would become the paternal figures he always wanted.

His friend, Ivan Ivanov, a reaper from the Russian Branch was more of a father in four years then Gakuhou was for how long Gakushu could remember. Yet Ivan took the designated spot of the 'fun uncle of the main group.' His friends were his family, and it was good enough for him.

He looked at the final question, it was one of the university level questions the chairman has set out. Gakushu snorted, 'typical.' He looked at it with bored look as he rested his cheek with his hand. His eyes hovered around the room, he noticed that the dark vibe radiated by the Class-A students disappeared.

Gakushu was more than happy enough that Ren has finally broke out from Gakuhou's hold, it seemed that it wasn't that perfect after all. Now, all is just left is the math exam. The strawberry blonde let out a sigh as he swallowed up his pride.

'You can do this.' He said to himself

He could imagine the formulas and working-out in the back of his mind, closing his violet eyes, they were coloured due to his contacts as he worked it out in his head. It was easy, he could work out every step, the formulas needed for this university level question.

And when he came to the right answer, he knew that he couldn't write it down for the sake of his mission. He looked down at the question, Gakushu did everything he could not have his pencil snapped in his fingers.

As much as Gakushu hated his father's teaching, he never like to lose. He was prideful but never to the point of self-destruction, as he had his friends checking him in line. And he had to do a lot for this school, mainly due to the Department.

'Sorry Akabane, I couldn't live up to your request.' And Gakushu deliberately wrote down an error that would definitely mess up the entire process.

Gakushu knew that he was only one step close before he joined Class-E. If only that voice would just go already.

'I told you, I don't care about Gakuhou anymore.'


	5. His breaking point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a shop now; https://www.redbubble.com/people/sommerannie

**His breaking point**

"Gakushu… Are you alright?" Ren asked nervously. He carefully dabbed the cotton ball soaked in disinfectant on Gakushu's cheek. He frowned as he checked his friend's wound, there were some blood dried down the bottom of his lips. Although he was happy that the boy was a very fast healer.

"I'm fine, it will only bruise." Gakushu only shrugged, he was shocked by the chairman's action that he bit his lip when the slap came. He didn't expect to be flung around the classroom, he wondered if his father had some kind of contract with a demon.

"I'm surprised that man had it in him." He chuckled, and he mainly chuckled at his inside joke. Gakushu noticed that Ren flinched. He looked to his friend and knew that he was holding his tongue back.

"Ren?" Gakushu uttered, looking over the pain filled expression of the other.

"Why? Why are you acting as if anything is fine?" Ren almost choked in his words, his hands shaking by his side.

"What are you talking about?" Gakushu was taken back. "What are you trying to say?"

"This isn't right!" Ren lashed out, Gakushu couldn't lie to say that he didn't flinch.

"Gakushu, are you in an abusive relationship with your father?" Ren held out his hands and grabbed the other's shoulders to prevent them from escaping. Even though Gakushu was a reaper, he didn't want to break his friend's arms.

'…. What?!' Gakushu was shocked of the quick conclusions his friend made. "What- no!"

"This is the first time he hit me, that's all!" He held his hands up in surrender but the grip on his shoulder became firmer and tighter.

"Mentally? Emotionally?!"

Gakushu's eyes wavered to the side a bit. 'Kinda, that is beside the point!' Ren caught that small detail.

"I knew it." Ren darkly muttered, and that glare he held, it was so intense that even Gakushu was getting intimated. "I'm going to get that fuck-"

"Stop it Ren! You are starting to creep me out!" Gakushu yelled, trying to snap his friend out of that dark mindset. He feared that his father still had some influence over his hazel haired hair, and then it hit him, he just broke away from his perfect leader act and snapped at his friend. Gakushu felt his face being the colours of Karma's shade of hair.

Ren blankly stared at Gakushu and his red face, he almost winced that the uncomfortable look on the strawberry blonde. Then Gakushu felt the hands on his shoulders stared to shake. "I'm sorry…"

"Ren?"

"I know… I'm sorry." Ren choked his words out and it sent a shard to Gakushu's heart. Ren lowered, as if he was trying to hide the shame he felt.

"Even if you don't see me as the same thing, nothing but another student… you are my friend."

"You were the first friend I made when I moved to this town. If ever, you're the first friend I made ever." Ren confessed, his grip on Gakushu's grew tighter.

'You are the same for me.' Gakushu added, he felt his face burn even more if that was even possible.

'I'm sorry.' Gakushu wanted to cry and apologise to the hazel haired boy, of course Gakushu viewed Ren as his friend, and he just didn't want to show him the true side of him. That he wasn't the perfect leader but a boy who had the biggest sweet-tooth and was told by many of his colleagues that he was their 'cinnamon roll'.

Surely Ren would think he was weird as soon as he took off the mask of formatility he maintained since he first started junior high? It would had been a complete 180 for the hazel haired male.

'You were always so much more.' Gakushu wanted to say, everything of how Ren was so precious to the strawberry blonde but the words won't come out. He knew that he didn't act around Ren like the usual friend would, there always seemed to be some sort of distance between the two. Enough that Gakushu never expressed of his true thoughts and feelings.

"I already lost someone once, I can't have this repeated again." Ren said, his voice never once wavered as his eyes flared with determination. "I can't afford losing someone important!"

Gakushu blushed at those words, of how blatant Ren was with his thoughts and feelings. Ren caught that look, he too was blushing when he thought back at those words. This felt like a confession but there is no turning back, and that look was adorable on the 'cold-hearted or emotionless leader.'

Violet eyes glanced back to be met with hazel brown, any other person thought that Ren was only speaking of teen drama but his eyes tell otherwise. Those eyes that Gakushu adored when they were lit with passion as Ren rambled about poetry, those eyes that spoke of a harsh experience befell on the young boy.

"I know that I'm scaring you…" Ren choked as he pulled closer to the boy, hugging him and tightening his hold. Gakushu thought that Ren was almost about to cry, he felt a stab of guilt digging into his heart, digging deep into his heart.

'Don't cry, please don't cry…'

"I-I…"

 _'You're doing this.'_  A voice called out to only Gakushu.

'…I'm doing this…' The strawberry blonde berated himself, cursing himself for making his friend sad.

Gakushu felt some tears began to well up his eyes, 'so warm..' This comfort speaks of Gakushu's untold desires for this same warmth from his father. But he mustn't cry, not in front of friend, Ren deserved so much more.

 _'Ren deserves so much more.'_  That voice called out, whispering close to his ear.

"I know that I don't deserve you after I abandoned you, to be a test animal for your father…" Ren softly said, Gakushu felt the tears dripping onto his back.

'That's not true! It was my duty!' He obviously couldn't say that, Gakushu couldn't say that went down to second place on purpose because a ghost organisation ordered him to.

"That's not true." Gakushu whispered back. He slowly extended his arms around, when Ren thought that the boy would push him away, Gakushu did the opposite. With unsureness, he wrapped his arms around Ren. Now that he had thought about it, Gakushu felt very small around his arms.

"It wasn't your fault that you were under the Chairman's influence… It was mine because I did nothing to stop it." Gakushu answered, he held a small smile as he gently rubbed his friend's back. "If anything, it was my fault."

Ren jolted out, his eyes now had anger in them but Gakushu knew that it wasn't directed at him. He shook his head and softly smile back at him. "I did nothing to help you break from his spell. I am more at fault here."

"I knew what was going on… but I did nothing." The younger boy reach out and cupped Ren's face, rubbing the tears away. "It was my fault, not yours that I was slapped by the Chairman. I pushed him to that act, not you."

Ren looked at him with sadness, saddened by the distance Gakushu had with his father, when he said Chairman more than he said father. "Please don't cry."

'Please don't be sad.' Gakushu looked deep into his friend's eyes, as he slowly stood up with a soft smile. Somehow, it made Ren's heart pull. "I'm fine, truly I am."

"Are you sure?" Ren whispered, he held the other's wrist. His hands were soft and gentle, it almost made Gakushu cry.

"Yes. Positive." Gakushu nodded, "I'm sure."

 _'Are you really?'_  That voice called out once more, Gakushu needed to get away.

"I have to go now, I have to do some errands…" Gakushu had to go, before he burst into tears, from the kindness that he believed that he didn't deserve.

"Gaksuhu-" The strawberry blonde walked out of the room before he bolted. Ren tried to run after him but by the time he set foot outside of the nurse's office, Gakushu was already gone and out of sight.

It was a cruel metaphor for Gakushu Asano, because humans couldn't follow after a reaper, no matter how much Gakushu wanted Ren by his side.

_'Running as always?'_

* * *

Gakushu stared at the bathroom mirror, eyes red as he stared at his chartreuse phosphorescent eyes behind his black-framed glasses. After he ran out of the school, never once he tried to wait for his father who went to the Class-E's building. He instead ran for the nearest reaper-run Team Mart convenience store.

He ran past Hoshino Kin, the light-pink haired worker without a second glance. It made the reaper concerned, she thought something happened at school as she watched Gakushu dashed into the staff room for the 'door'.

'Cutie pie…?' She didn't like what her gut was feeling. And that was what Gakushu imagined what she was thinking, he knew that was he did was out of character for him. But, he didn't want her to see whatever state he was in. So he rushed to the male bathrooms.

The voices in his head that started to talk again when he took off his glasses.  _'You know it is true.'_  It whispered and Gakushu tried his best to block it out. He splashed his face with the cold water.

"I have to get my uniform." He spoke to no-one in particular, he visualised the black double-breasted hooded coat sitting on his bed.

He removed the contacts and emptily stared at the mirror, he hated this colour, this inhumane colour of his eyes. He wanted to bash the mirror just as he did when he was 10, but he restrained himself from doing so. He told himself that he was completely different from that child four years ago, now he has a proper base of support, he had friends, and he had hobbies, even if it took his death of achieving that paradise.

 _'But this isn't paradise.'_  A voice told him,  _'And you know it.'_

Shut up _._

_'This is limbo. That is what the Department is. It is for everyone; Lucia, Wolfie, Ivan, Gretel.'_

Shut up!

But that voice continued to list more of Gakushu's friends,  _'Noct, Iggy, Arthur. They are still here even after decades of hard work just to earn their forgiveness. How many years have William even been here again?'_

Stop it.

_'Lucia cries for the child she will never have, Rilliane ask for the colour she couldn't remember, Noct begs for the looks to go away.'_

Stop it!

_'An couldn't live like a couple, poor Johnny and Ikeda has to act as a bystander than the partner they strive to be. Even if they are nothing like that person that pushed her into that pact.'_

_'It's not like that man knows anything in the first place._ '

Gakushu denied what it said, even though what it said was true. Gakuhou Asano didn't even ask when he came back from overseas of how Gakushu was, when Gakushu stepped foot back into the human world as a full-fledge reaper.  _'He wouldn't even care, nobody in that world care about you like how the Department does. He's supposed to be your father.'_

Gakushu wanted his mind to quiet, he want to deny everything it said.  _'Wait!'_

"Ren is different! He swallowed his pride for my sake! He cares for me!"

'…' Gakushu felt triumphant, having now beaten that voice. He smiled at the mirror but then the movement on the mirror didn't mimic his own.

'Ren is going first, just like that and there is nothing to could do about it.' His reflection spoke. 'He is going to follow the path that you are forbidden to go.'

"I know that!"

Gakushu slammed his fist onto the counter. "Maybe I can delay that day?! It will only be extra paperwork duties! Only some more years!"

'You can't do anything to change that fate. Humans have to die at some point.'

"Nothing…" Gakushu felt the tears now dropping down from his eyes.

_'Yes, nothing….'_

* * *

'Ren… My first friend.'

'Why can't you be like him, a person who only knew me from school and only since junior high… why is he more loving than you?' Gakushu now walked aimlessly, in his school uniform to the Central Building.

'Why, why did he knew to hug me when you never bother?' He no longer cared of how he looked like as he continued his train of thought.

'Why couldn't he be the one who save me that day?' An who was sitting with Johnny by the lounge felt unsettled as she looked over to Gakushu.

'Why, why did it come to this?' Rilliane didn't like how fidgety Gakushu was.

'No, it has always been like this.' James didn't knew how to respond to the strawberry blonde, he felt something wasn't right.

'Since I could remember…' Gakushu closed his eyes are he went through his thoughts.

'My Ren…' The images of Ren took over his mind.

"Shuuie?" Antonio asked and he extended his arm a bit, "Shuuie are you alright?" And gave a gentle tap.

* * *

There was a man who stood in line with light hair of white-platinum blonde, it was layered and the middle fringe that covered his forehead that a slight curliness that swayed to the left. Donned in a dark and well-fitted suit set matched with a dark trench-coat, black gloves and polished prada-shoes.

"What is going on?" Ikeda watched as there were more reapers started to surround around one area. And then he was filled with a bit of sadness when he got the idea, 'More be another episode.'

It was a normal occurrence in the halls of the Department after all. So normal that many other reapers continued to stay in line and waited to hand in their collection books to front desk. Another there were some juniors who were uncomfortable and some even confused about the scenario just played out.

Ikeda would shrug it off, offered his condolences and move on. It was the life of a reaper and he went back to read his briefing reports. He couldn't wait to go on that trip to Dubai in a few weeks, maybe he could tease his cute 'little strawberry' Shu with some outlandish gifts.

'I wonder what I should buy something for An, what will make Johnny jealous?'

"Shuuie! Gakushu!" Antonio cried out.

'What!?' Ikead snapped at the voice of his friend. He jolted from his reports, slamming them on the coffee table and turned back to the scene. The man bolted in a split second, rushing to them in fear.

'Please don't tell me-'

"Argggghhhh!" Gakushu was struggling under the Spaniard's hold, as the man could just barely kept him constrained under his grip. The strawberry blonde screamed, as he was a caged animal trying to break away from his prison. He gritted his teeth, his violet purple eyes resembled almost as a crazed animal.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He clawed at the reapers who came to restrain him. Ikeda included.

"Does anyone have a kit!?" A reaper with dirty blonde hair named Johnny screamed. He was barely able to hold down the child's arm.

"Gakushu!" An, the Australian reaper with black hair tied in a mid-ponytail and curly fringe cried. She attempted to pulled smaller boy's arm down to keep them from hurting the others but mainly at himself.

"Gakushu-chan, you have calm down." Rilliane called out to her junior, she tear up along with An. Somehow, the group managed to position the boy down to the floor.

"Medic! We need the Ward here!" Ikeda called out. "Geez, for a kid, you have a lot of kick in you!"

"Ikeda! Not a good time!" Johnny snapped as Ikeda scoffed, before the light haired man could retort back, help has come to them.

"Hold him down." A male voice asked, Kim Tae-sik was preparing the kit with fast hands, opening container and inside was the syringe kit and a bottle of sedatives. He stabbed the soft cap the small glass bottle, pulling the plunger and watched as it filled up with the sleeping agent.

He glanced over around to Gakushu, who was baring his teeth out, still roaring and his neon-green eyes flashed with fury as he struggled. He kneed to the ground, the strawberry blonde froze the moment he felt the needle being injected into his neck.

His voice gave out as the sedative was being pushed into his system. All the needed requirement was coursing in the boy, Gakushu slowly drifted away into unconsciousness and his eyes slowly closing. He stared blankly up to the ceiling, with tears tearing down from his eyes. He weakly turned his head around and was met with Rilliane.

"R-Ren, don't cry. Please don't cry."

"It is not… you're fault. It is my-"

And finally, Gakushu gave into the drug and went into the world of sleep.

_Another one to add to the Ward's growing list._

_It was another day at the Department._


	6. Stranger day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHOP: https://www.redbubble.com/people/sommerannie

**Stranger day**

_"There is something going on in that class. The students there… Their fates have changed far too many times after the complaints of their records were investigated."_

As Gakushu's senior explained about the new assignment, the strawberry blonde knew that she was hiding something, observing her expressions with some worry _. "I couldn't believe it myself as well in the meeting_." She explained and that was all placed on the table

_"The higher ups wanted a mole and record of their activities."_

The reaper wondered if it came from her meeting, Rilliane almost went on her caffeine rampage as soon she was let out of the boardroom.

* * *

This day couldn't possibly got stranger than it was. After arriving at the Chairman's office. The dark chestnut haired man took the chance to belittle his son for losing his number one spot in the school. The results of the exam had been released and Gakushu was now placed in the second ranking, replacing him was Karma Akabane.

'And why should I care about this?' The reaper internally rolled violet eyes without care. Tuning out of his words and zoned out while still keeping appearances.

It was sad to think that Gakushu received the moral support he so deserved after his death with the Grim Reapers. You could even describe that Gakushu was an entirely a different person behind Death's doors. Because he acted upon to what everyone in this school expected him so.

Although Gakushu could be a bit stubborn when it came to making bonds, at first. It took him six months to even call his senior, his main senior his friend instead of 'senior Rilliane' or 'Miss Williams' after being taught by her and her eccentric colleagues. They understand that he was acting under his father's strict teachings.

One was a Stasi officer with a love for whiskey and the other was a KGB officer vodka lover who was always drinking vodka. The two had an interesting quirk that Rilliane always tried to stay away from a ten mile radius, and no the two are not married nor in a relationship. But no matter what of their quirks or eccentricities, they still Gakushu as he wasn't Gakuhou Asano's son and he was happy about that.

Noct bonded quickly and very well with the strawberry blonde, bonded over sweets. An for helping Gakushu during the first month.

Every reaper was the same. Yes, even Ikeda.

The strawberry blonde internally chuckled, anything to tune out of that man's voice, anything was better. Especially what he has done, for what happened in the past few days.

Gakuhou saw that Gakushu tightened his fist in a balls to calm his wrath. "You will go join Class-E tomorrow." The Chairman said to him and without an ounce of sympathy.

'There it was.' The reaper wanted to yell at man, to rip every limb away from his body, for corrupting Ren with his ideology, for making the strawberry blonde cry. All of those dark thoughts came as soon as those words were uttered out.

But there was a job to do. "You can't be serious!" The blonde yelled, violet eyes lit ablaze. Fist clenched tightly in attempt to control the anger manifesting. If the anger was a bon-fire, then those words were the oil. It wasn't helping that his son was been thrown into the End Class for such a petty reason. Even if it has been done so purposefully.

'That man is beyond saving.' The reaper thought, and sadly it was becoming common thoughts amongst Gakushu's reaper friends.

Especially from An,  _"Frankly, I think that bridge was forever close on the day the moment when Gakushu came to our doors four years ago."_

"When am I ever anything but serious, Asano? You are going to be our new Class-E student." He replied coldly with a cruel smile. Before the strawberry blonde could make any remark, Gakuhou added cruelly "You have been lose more in this year than I have in a decade, I thought you would be better suited in a class for hopeless cases."

That man always seemed to get the best of child, he always knew how to inflame the blonde's temper. And Gakuhou knew this. He watched Gakushu Asano tried his hardest to maintain his façade of professionalism and appear relatively calm as his father ridiculed him.

Which was very difficult to keep calm when the reaper wanted to punch the nearest wall at best, a worst ripping out the man's organs.

Gakuhou Asano has done too much damage that it was impossible to fix. Even if it was Gakushu's desire, to have his father act just like one, it was growing more distant by the day and by the year. Everything he had done to please his father had no effect, he accepted that as soon he completed the first part of his assignment in Class-E. He accepted his death after all, at that moment he woke up when he never expected to again.

'It was all for naught.' The reaper thought, looking back into the field of memories.

"At least now you will be in on the secret of Class-E" He spoke so light-heartedly, he seemed to taking amusement by his son's anger. His eyes quickly darkened when he hovered down to his son's hand, now dripping with some blood.

"So you are hiding something Chairman." The other said and with a smirk in attempts to gain control of the conversation. "And what makes you think that I won't use this against you?"

The Chairman chuckled back, "Because then you would be committing a serious crime by spreading international secrets, of course." The strawberry blonde internally laughed.

'Oh I'm sorry, this now has become Reaper matters.' And then another thought came passing by. 'What has that man gotten himself into?' Another thought came it had to be so troubling that the Department had to be involved. It was hard not to face-palm and moan. That was better than ripping the man into shreds.

"To save us the trouble, please don't tell the public this international secret."

The blonde almost snorted who could so easily just text in code on phone, tell the dozens of reapers just stationed in this town or giving the 'watch' to the Intelligence Division. Not that anyone else knows but the watch on the reaper's write was actually a voice recorder and transmitter. 'Thank-you for Grim Reaper's fast developing and convenient technology.'

But enough about that, a government personal of what they knew as the assistant teacher and PE teacher of Class-E. Mr Karasuma entered the office, cladded in black with a simple suit to escort to a secret facility to explain the situation at the End Class. This was a very strange day, but not the worse.

There were stranger days, as a reaper, they dealt with things that humans could never fathom. Example one, angels and demons. Gakuhou saw that Gakushu took one last quickly glanced at his father, the blonde gave a glare flared with anger at that man before finally exiting the room.

Gakuhou never seen just a look like that from his son, it has like he was a different person. That look, it was read loud and clear.

' _I hate you.'_

* * *

"Can I go to my locker for a moment? I want to grab my coat. It's getting a bit chilly."

"My apologies but I must check them if you do." Karasuma explained and strawberry blonde gave him an amused look. He chuckled with one hand over his mouth. The older man thought he never heard the usually reserved teenager laugh. And it definitely didn't fit the son of Asano, but that could be because of first impressions of Gakuhou Asano.

Karasuma was further surprised when Gakushu laughed some more. "What? I'm not a school shooter."

"Protocol."

"Interesting."

Karasuma followed the boy as they walked down the colourless and dull hallways of the main building. It made the teacher miss the atmosphere of Class-E, of how it reminds of his childhood. And the flashbacks began.

"Catch." A voice called out from nowhere, he wasn't going to lie, and he was caught off guard as he snapped out from happier memories of 'her' smile. He flinch as caught in his hands a simple but fashionable black trench coat fastened by buttons on the side and a ribbon around the waist.

"Don't be surprised by the style, it's European."

The older male swiftly checked through the coat, when there was nothing, he returned back to the boy who folded it his arm giving him an air of nobility. And they began to walk, Gakushu walking alongside with Karasuma to the secret meeting.

He didn't know why but when he went through that boy's coat, something felt extremely off emitting from that coat. As if you could hide from the world from the shadows, into the night.

Karasuma couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, it was as if death was looming over him.

* * *

'No wonder Rilliane didn't tell the full story of the situation.' The blonde thought, 'If I were here, I would have a hard time believing as well.'

Those in the meeting made sure that the child signed a confidentiality agreement that was intended to break as soon as possible. It was another strange story added to the Department's archives.

'It was a shame that I couldn't live to the vow of secrecy.' Because being made privy to the secrets of Class-E and a part of a ghost organisation that was the Department. As the say goes 'it does that to a girl.'

Who knew that the existence yellow octopus alien creature, who just happened to be the one behind the destruction of the moon. Which caused chaos in the Department, the organisation of reapers.

Because other people, going through the logical route, would had assumed that it was some sort of meteor and left it at that. As any other reasonable person would. Who else would assume that it a monster who was masquerading as a teacher? That was what the slideshow explained. There would be twitching in the eye but at this point, there was more strangeness out there in the world.

'Do Grim Reapers even judge aliens?' And that thought was quickly shot down, 'That's beside the point. The moon was going to be fixed anyway.'

Much of the Demons needed the moon for their hibernation cycle. As through Rilliane's words, "If the moon is gone than that is more work for us." Understatement of the year.

So it was mostly crossed off the mental list for the reapers, for the reapers on nightly shifts whenever they looked up at the night sky. The good thing that came out of this was that Noct wrote a song out of this situation.

More thoughts then entered, 'what would happen to me and the other reapers if the world was destroyed. With no more souls to collect, what would they do? What happens to the ghosts when the earth is no more? Forgiven by default? The ultimate break?'

The men in suits gave the newly added member of Class-E a rubber green knife and pellet gun that could somehow harm the octopus monster teacher whom the other Class-E students would like to dubbed him as 'Korosensei.'

To recap, now a part of Class-E who were currently being trained to be assassins to kill a yellow octopus monster alien thing. It was dubbed as Korosensei, it could be hurt with green rubber weapons and has a bounty of ten billion dollars. It could potentially destroy the world by graduation who happened to be a teacher teaching his class the art of assassination.

'I had stranger days, the Undertaker business was a mess.'

And the youngest person sitting there, taking it all it, with a composure of a prideful noble and grace of a lady.

It reminded Karasuma of someone he love, and keyword,  _love_.

* * *

There was only one last thing to do before going to the Department and giving the watch to the Technology Division. And it just so happened that the same coat Karasuma checked over was reaper clothing. It was more easily seen to those mundane if a reaper hadn't worn it yet.

Donned in the black trench-coat that was just above the knees, a person with strawberry blonde hair walked deep into the forestry surrounding Class-E. Knowing full well that nobody would come to a place like that, no one able to see what came next.

A reaper stood midst the trees, looking up to see the skies blanketed by grey clouds waiting to rain down on the Earth and it's inhabits. Hands rise up to go through strawberry blonde locks, blood now dried gripping on hair before dragging it down. Coming down to reveal underneath short blonde hair, golden blonde that was styled short and curled above the shoulder.

The person dropped the wig down to the ground, blankly looking up to the dull skies. That thin frown then curled, shoulders twitching and then the giggling began. Before starting to laugh madly, laughter that could only could come from a girl. And she lashed it all out, for the world loud and clear. And yet it couldn't be heard to the mundane, all because of that one simple black coat.

"Haahhahahahhahahahahhah!" She laughed up to the sky, laughed for what it seemed to be hours where it was only seconds.

"You never found out!" She yelled to the sky, to Gakuhou Asano, "That I am Gretel Milord! Reaper of the English Branch, big sister of Gakushu!" The blond girl yelled manically to the skies.

"Haahhahahahhahahahahhah!"

"You never knew when Gakushu was sick, I was the one who took his place for three days!"

"You bastard!" She scorned, her face twisted in anger while retraining her smile.

"You will never discover the truth of your son, that you killed him!" Gretel yelled, freeing the wrath that brewed in her petite body growing for four years, with it's key being Gakuhou's recent conversation. "You were the one who drove him away from this world, away from the path of the mundane!"

"Gakushu Asano was a boy who came to the Department at ten! Ten you bastard!" She screamed out and up to the skies, "You were the reason why that little boy decided that overdosing was the best decision for him!"

"And we, we were the ones who had him unlearn of all your disgusting teachings! You were the one who taught him that he couldn't cry."

Gretel lashed out An's words, "So many concepts were so alien to him, many that we accept as normal. Hugs, tears, laughter, and even smiles. And because of you." She spatted out with a sneer.

"Be thankful that Wolfie was there to keep us by from tearing down your school!"

"Ivan was a better father than you!" She spoke of Ikeda's words. "Ikeda would be, no- is a better father figure than you ever could!"

"We were the ones introduced him his love for sweets! Arthur was the first to give him his slice of cake, that one bitof happiness you denied him for years!" She recounted back to when Gakushu first woke up in his new life of a Death God. "Rilliane stepped forth as the mother in his life, to give him the love he so desperately deserves!"

"Johnny, Mark, James, An, Antonio, Van, Ikeda, Arthur, Ivan, Wolfie, Lucia, Ivan!" And she emotionally listed more names, proving her point to no-one in particular. "Noct, Ignis, everyone in the Department!"

"You will never found out that Gakushu has a sweet-tooth, who loves to sing and dance! His best friend is Noct! He rather go into medical help then what ever bullshit you pump into his brain." She continued her rant with a deranged smile. She spread her arms out as if she wanted to take on the world. "Who we can see for who he truly is, not the perfect son, that mask he present himself to this god forsaken town he gives to you!"

"You will never, ever see that… And now you had condoned him to the path of a Grim Reaper."

And the rain began to pour, drenching the girl wet. "…Yes… That's right, he came to our doorstep on his own will, to kill off the pain that he had felt prior to. To suffer no more and finally be free." She smiled weakly as the rain poured.

She calmed as her arms slowly went back to her sides. The rain hid her tears that rolled freely down her cheeks as her laughter ceased. The skies seemed duller than before as it rained, soaking her and the black coat along with the school uniform. As if her English roots came back to taunt her.

"He came to us."

She hated for what this school uniform stood for, whose father's ideology drove him to his final act, from a slumber he never thought he could ever wake up from, his unforgivable sin. The only thing good was that this uniform played a factor for Ren and Gakushu to meet, for the two to become friends...

'Why couldn't this end different? Why must this fate befell on Gakushu-kun?' This uniform symbolised everything to have Gakushu consume enough pills to kill a healthy adult.

"Yes like the rest of us."

_And for some it was through different means, but nevertheless, the outcome was the same for every reaper of the Department._


	7. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, so... stuff happened and we have to overlook your class now... hi?" Everyone glanced at him in bewilderment. 'Guess breaking the news lightly didn't work, huh?'
> 
> Ikeda... probably.

**Introduction**

The redheaded demon, otherwise infamously known as Karma Akabane with his friends, Kayano and Nagisa, walked up the mountain steps for another start in the day at Class-E, as well as many more attempts on eliminating their octopus-alien homeroom teacher. They went inside of the old building and headed for their class, they were stopped however to see everyone crowding outside.

Everyone was whispering to each other, Rio and Okuda peeking through the gap of the door and the main three looked on with confusion.

"What's going on?" Nagisa asked as he approached Isogai.

"Take a look." Isogai answered in a whisper to the blue haired boy.

Karma, Nagisa and Kayano shifted to the door and looked through the small gap of their homeroom classroom. Inside, they saw a man around Karasuma's height dressed in black. His hair was white-platinum blonde, it was layered and the middle fringe covered his forehead and a bit on his cheek had a slight curliness that swayed to the left.

He wore a well-fitted dark suit that showed up his muscles with a matching trench-coat in the same colour. Finally finishing up the look with black gloves, dark turquoise tie as it's white collar was buttoned up and polished prada-shoes.

Behind his black framed glasses were the sharpest colours the three had ever seen, it had an inhuman vibe of it, as if it could stare into your very soul. They were the colour of chartreuse phosphorescent. The three managed to suppress a shiver from going down their spines from how cold and sharp his eyes were, despite of the man's seemingly carefree expressions.

"Who's he?" Kayano turned to Rio.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Rio sighed in frustration and they went back to staring through the gap.

"He's armed." Karma whispered, and the class felt the air turned cold in an instant. Was it another assassin targeting their class and their teacher they were the ones supposed to kill?

Everyone went into a defensive stance, Karma watched as the man's black baton waving up and down as it patted on his shoulder. The man just whistled as he surveyed around the class.

'Who know, they could just be quiet instead.' The man mused to himself, he heard all of their words loud and clear. 'Not sure if I wanted to give up my good eye-sight for super hearing though.'

'Meh, I didn't really get in a say in that anyway.'

"What is everyone here just standing around?" A deep man's voice called out, thank god it was only Karasuma. Everyone turned to the government agent posing as a teacher and hastily shushed him.

"There is a man inside." Okuda timidly answered.

The other chuckled, 'They speak as if I am a demon waiting to eat the souls of the children.'

"Please, you are all assassin trainees." Irina playfully taunted as she moved forward and was about to slide the door open. Before anyone could stop her, the door was already slid open.

"Wondering when you will finally come inside." The man chirped as he looked down over to Irina, before he then hovered around to the rest of the class and two other teachers. In all her life that this man who has the demeanour of a playboy made Irina froze, and gulped from how unsettling eye-colour he had. And it was staring down at her, into her very soul.

'Not as pretty as An though.' A thought went through the light haired man as he peered over the blonde teacher. He looked over and let out a playful whistle.

"So you are the alien everyone has been talking about." He spoke to himself as he looked at Korosensei. 'Man, I never seen skin that bright yellow.' He thought in amusement and wonder. 'Note to self, get sunglasses for tomorrow.'

"Hey, so... stuff happened and we have to overlook your class now... hi?" Everyone glanced at him in bewilderment. 'Guess breaking the news lightly didn't work, huh?'

"Come in." He said as he moved out of the way and stood next to the desk. Everyone shuffled into the class awkwardly and sat at their desk, never once left their eyes on his weapon at his side. Many already prepared to lash out their guns and knives, even though it won't kill the man but it will do the damage.

Ikeda chuckled, 'As if they could complete against a full-fledge reaper.'

"Sorry for coming in without a short-notice." The man shrugged his shoulders. "But stuff happened so plans has changed."

"Who are you?" Korosensei asked the well-dressed stranger. Nagisa and the class caught on that their teacher was nervous. What the class didn't know was why he was unsettled by this man the teacher could so easily take on.

Korosensei was unsettled, from how much this man resembled much of Gakuhou's old and decreased student. From the structure to face and down to his cheekbones, the only difference from the two were the hair colour. And even then, the light hair of white-platinum blonde looked to be dyed.

"Nobody important. The names Ikeda, I'm from the GRD." Ikeda said as he flicked his light layered hair and the nervousness multiplied tenfold in Korosensei's stomach. "Or where everyone that works there, we call it the Department." Ikeda flipped out a letter from his suit and gave it to Karasuma.

"It is funny how you guys are building us up." He laughed as he patted on Karasuma's back. Karasuma moved away while Ikeda just gave him a cheeky grin. Those green-neon eyes followed at man as he opened up the letter, the class felt that they were suffocating under this tense air.

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe that we exist, but the ones that do call us the Department." Ikeda took in a deeper voice as he was imitating someone. "We are a ghost, nobody has found a single ounce of information about us unless we send in the information ourselves."

"Who knew that we had to tell you all of that because you took a picture of Chris on his rounds?" Ikeda chirped.

"Why are you here?" Karasuma demanded, shocking everyone of how panicked the tough government agent looked. Ikeda smirked at the chaos he was internally brewing, it was quite funny sometimes when reapers were involved with human matters.

Ikeda held up his hands in surrender casually. "Like I said, plans has changed and then new information came out that forced us to intervene and oversee here." He pointed his baton to the non-human looking teacher.

"If the situation is as serious as it is, then we have no choice by to take over this operation."

"We don't need your help! We can assassinate Korosensei ourselves!" Teresaka called out against the Department man, and many students feared for his life. The boy felt a shiver going down his spine as those neon-green eyes travelled over to light green eyes.

And then Ikeda laughed boomingly. "Relax. We won't attack until we are given the final orders." Ikeda said and many let out a sigh of relief, but that feeling of uncomfortableness hadn't left just yet.

"It could had been worse, at first we were intending to send in a mole to pose as a student. And trust me, you would had never suspected a thing but stuff happened so here we are." Ikeda added, he knew that he need to add some fear and authority over the class. And also it was fun.

"You hire children?" Korosensei darkly muttered. The class thought that this Ikeda had a death wish when he only looked confused.

Ikeda blankly stared at Korosensei, he thought it was too human even. "That was quite a human response. How does an alien understand human values?"

'He could actually be a demon, how do we even judge aliens in the first place?' Class-E was getting more interesting for Ikeda, it was a shame that he couldn't go to Dubai but he got to oversee an 'alien' teacher. What a story to tell.

"Any ages can join the Department, from 5 to 90." Ikeda answered, "But we're not recruiting. And even if we tried, no one here would fit our requirements." He then scanned around the room, lingering a bit longer on Karma. "Maybe, not yet that is."

"And by the way, have Gakuhou Asano come after school here." Ikeda darkly muttered, the tone of his voice quickly shifted. "This will involve with him as well. I will look forward of meeting him." He darkly chuckled.

"I will come back later after school, I will get your representative and or supervisor ready." And once they blinked, he was already gone.

Whatever this Department was planning, Class-E won't have it and make sure that this representative was going to have hell.

* * *

The bell rang to signify lunch period. Many of the students rushed out for some needed fresh air and to eat their lunch. However Ren stayed behind as he slowly placed his books away. He glanced over to Gakushu's table that has been empty since yesterday.

He couldn't put his finger on it, Gakushu felt different from yesterday. Gakushu was called to his father's office in the morning and he didn't came back to class after that. Then news came to the main building like the plague, that Gakuhou Asano has placed his son into Class-E.

Many were shock, he was shocked. After that shock wore down, it was quickly replaced with anger and wrath in the hazel haired boy and that was directed at that man. He tried to call Gakushu, but the strawberry blonde didn't answered back. He tried texting, but he didn't reply back. No response.

"Gakushu, where are you?" Ren whispered to himself as he stared at his phone. And the seed of guilt that was long planted started to spout.

'These cruel cogs of fate are rotating again.' He thought to himself.

He wondered if he should have  _him_  spy on the Chairman.

* * *

The final bell rang and Class-E waited tensely at their desks for the supposed Department's representative arrival. And then the Chairman, Gakuhou Asano walked in and he peered around the room. As if he was looking for someone.

"So, where is my son?" The man asked.

'What?' Nagisa thought and everyone's attention when to the principle.

"I thought I sent Asano-kun to Class-E? Has he not arrived this morning?" Gakuhou smiled to the class.

"Have you seen him?" Karasuma voiced his concern, he found it strange that Gakushu didn't came to school after yesterday's news.

"Not since yesterday. Oh dear, I think he might have run away."

"Alright, I'm back." A familiar voice called out as the door loudly shifted opened. Ikeda stood there as a dark aura was emitted around him. "Good, everyone's here. And you. The man who allowed the existence of Class-E for this scenario to happen." He sneered as he clicked his tongue.

Gakuhou felt the air was sucked out from his lungs as he looked to the light-haired man. That facial structure, his eyes and even how his nose was shaped. He felt that he was looking into God's cruellest punishment, this man looked if Ikeda had all grown up and never died by the noose. Ikeda smirked at the other, "What? Cat got your tongue?"

"Are you our supervisor?" Isogai timidly asked, they could feel it, the killer instance emitting from the male, it was like Korosensei's. Ikeda waved the kid off.

"Nah, kinda? I'm just here to watch over the guy. Partner work and all, standard stuff." And he closed the door behind him, making his way to the front. "The good news is that I'm going to be an assistant teacher to Kuma over here." He pointed with his thumb over to Karasuma.

'Kuma!?' Karasuma blanched, only one person could ever give him a nickname.

'Great, we are getting two.' That was the general thought in the class.

'It is a good thing that the cameras aren't set yet.' Ikeda thought, because Ivan would had left work to come here and bash Gakuhou with his lead pipe. Along with the other reapers joining along in the witch-hunt and probably led by Gretel.

"Alright, as you know, the Department has now decided to intervene with the matter that surrounds the being dubbed as Korosensei." And the class nodded to his words. "Up until now, we believed that he was no threat to the safety of humanity. However new information was brought to our table that we have no choice but to overwatch the operation."

'And that he almost brought Rilliane into another caffeine rampage…' He almost shuddered at the thought. "If more new information comes into light, then this will no longer be at the hands of Class-E or any World government. Nor do we care if we don't receive the share of the 5 billion bounty."

"Why would we if we are currently repairing the moon?" Ikeda jest as he send the class into a frenzy as he expected. He yawned as he waited for them to settle down. That wasn't happening.

'Oh well.' Ikeda watched and he was quite pleased with himself of his work.

"Quiet~" Ikeda sang loudly with a bit of cheek and everyone shut their mouths.

"At first, we planned to have a mole enter the class. But the situation has changed that and new orders from the higher ups asked us to intervene now." Ikeda repeated his words from this morning to build up the tension and anticipation. He gestured his hand around while the other dug into his trench pockets. Karma wearily eyed at the police black baton attached to his belt. Something about that weapon felt so wrong but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Come in." He waved his arm out to the door and it slide opened. Gakuhou and Karasuma's eyes widened in an instant. The two men felt that time froze the moment they met eye to eye at their new visitor.

"Class of End, Class-E, meet your representative of the GRD. One of the Department's brightest who graduated within a month." Ikeda cheered. The tension grew, who was their representative going to be? Footsteps echoed, heavy steps were sounded.

They never expected at a boy with strawberry blonde hair around Karma's height would walk in through that door and donned in black. Dressed in black double-breasted hooded, white military-styled cargo pants, black boots marching forward to the front of the classroom. Behind those black-framed glasses bore the same eyes as Ikeda. Those inhumane chartreuse phosphorescent coloured eyes.

"Gakushu Asano."

The classroom couldn't utter a single world, Gakuhou was shocked, Korosensei was shocked beyond belief. That this boy was hiding under their noses as a member of the infamous and secretive organisation. Even Irina with her history couldn't help but gasp. Gakushu looked on to the class with a bored look, though his eyes pierced the air with his gaze.

Kayano covered her mouth with her hand, Nagisa's bright blue eyes widened, Karma's mouth gaped. Karasume wearily glanced at the boy's cold look, the look that seen too much and already at this age. An instinct burst inside of the man of protectiveness and rage against the Department for allowing this boy to witness everything cruel of this world.

"I am Gakushu Asano of the Japanese Branch and I'm currently working in the Retrieval Division, I have four years of experience as a member of the Department." He said without conviction and emotion as he blankly stared forward, before bowing ever so slightly.

"Please look forward of my presence."


	8. Aftermaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How is he? How's Gakushu-kun?"
> 
> Gretel

**Aftermaths**

"How is he? How's Gakushu-kun?" Gretel asked Arthur as they walk in one of the many food-courts of the Department, the blonde male was avid when Gretel to the hallways of the Department in Kungigaoko junior high uniform soaked by the rain.

Now the blonde was dressed in her dry attire, a sailor-like outfit with a wide and flared collar and small buttons. It is tucked into a high, long skirt that is longer than the coat, and has lace at the hem, finishing it with stockings. The coat she was wearing was usually fitted for a dark black suit, a black suit-jacket that was a bit too bit for her. As it was from Arthur who was insisted of her wearing it to avoid the cold.

"We found out that we can't have Rilliane be there with him, Gakushu-kun was calling her Ren." Arthur said as he placed his tray of food on the table. "The poor boy was crying out for her, like how Lucia cries out for her child. Don't leave me, come back he said."

"I guess we could confirm that from day one." Gretel felt sick to her stomach on the day she found out when Gakushu had the mental breakdown, his cries for Ren, for him not to go was heartbreaking. The way he clung to Rilliane when he was first admitted to the Ward and Rilliane checked her junior. "When is he coming out from the Ward?"

"Tomorrow." Arthur answered. Gretel softly smiled as she went to stab her salad with a fork. "Gretel did you knew?"

"Knew about what?" She asked as she looked up to him, although she already knew what Arthur wanted to know.

"That Gakushu had a 75% chance of having an episode." Arthur cut to the chase.

"Yes, I do. At the start of his school year." And she immediately answered to her old friend as she took a bite on her lettuce.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He asked once more,

"Do you think it would change the outcome, I had the updated reported where his chances just before he lashed out was 94%."

"… It was inevitable."

* * *

Ikeda walked with a small carton and inside is a slice of strawberry shortcake, with extra strawberries. He walked down the white halls of the Ward, passing the patients who was in each room through the large glass panels in each one to the next.

"Hey Shu, how's it going?" Ikeda asked, he stood behind the glass panel wall, patient no.132.

"Tired… but I can't sleep." Gakushu muttered as he curled himself in his bed. Tae-sik gave the light haired man a nod and allow him to enter the room. Ikeda closed the door behind me and sat next to the boy. The once black-ops man now worker of the Ward stood outside of the room for supervision as a precaution.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do it… I was supposed to do my job but…" Gakushu whispered, Ikeda could easily tell that he could barely hold onto his emotion and tears from spilling.

"What happened?" Ikeda gently asked as he set the cake carton underneath the bed. There was no response from the young reaper, instead he slowly seat up from his blanket and sat closely to Ikeda, his head resting on the man's shoulder. The silence continued, but Ikeda allowed it, he will let Gakushu take his time.

And eventually, Gakushu did. "He slapped me, the chairman slapped me." He whispered, Ikeda did his fucking best not to dash out of this room to take a punch to that man's ribs.

"Does Gretel know about his? Ikeda asked, he was good at hiding the darkness from leaking into his voice.

The young boy shook his head. "No, and I intend to keep it that way. If she knew, heads will be rolling." Gakushu weakly chuckled and Ikeda followed along, Gretel's temper that easily outmatch of Gakushu's, it was quite funny and terrifying of the extent her wrath could do.

"… Why?" Gakushu chocked and Ikeda wrapped his arm around his shoulder, softly rubbing his shoulder as a gesture of comfort. Gakushu wished so desperately that his father did the same. 'Why could he do what Ikeda does, I mean… it's fucking Ikeda…' He wanted to chuckle at his inside-joke.

'Ikeda, my big brother.' Gakushu internally admitted the close bond the two shred. "When he slapped me, it broke him out of his robotic persona. That even he could feel."

He looked down at his trembling hands. "But then the thoughts came to me, why could you act like this then?" He asked to his father that wasn't here in the first place." Tears spilled over his cheeks. "Why did it come to this? Has it always been like this?"

"Ren didn't help either, he was far too kind…. He was the one who comforted me while my own father was own elsewhere." Gakushu further explained. "He was the one who gave me the warmth and love…. I'm going to lose him, he is going to died first before I could get my body back."

"… I realised now how much I care for him, how I wish for him to say I love you back…" Gakushu admitted his deepest of secrets to Ikeda, after his first days spent in the Ward, the seeds that was long sowed when he was 10, as it grew, it finally sprouted into a rose, he realised that now.

"A few moments later, after I ran out of the school… you know the rest." Gakushu finished his story.

"Gakushu, do you know what is going to happen next?" Ikeda asked.

The strawberry blonde shook his head, and then Ikeda groaned. "What happened?"

"You will get the report as soon you get out of the Ward." He answered as he dug his gloved hand through his light-coloured hair.

"Ikeda?"

"You will be a representative for Class-E. The Department is also stationing me to be a student-teacher at Class-E…" The older man stated, Gakushu's eyes widened.

"Why?" Gakushu was confused, first this new dispatch and his new partner assignment.

"Shu, you are a ticking time bomb in roomful of children. You are violent in your episodes, not like An but definitely like Lucia." Ikeda sorrowfully glanced to the little reaper. He had to correct himself. "No, you're worse. You are like Noct, like a crazed animal lashing out against the world. You also almost bit Antonio's ear off.".

'That bad?' Gakushu winced.

"Why couldn't they have only you in the first place?" Gakushu asked a good question. "It is as you said, I'm a ticking time bomb here. It is not like the Department can't plan for my death in the outside world."

"You have to go. You gave up your position, you are far too deep to give up now." Ikeda explained, he couldn't allow Gakushu's work go to waste. "Because they wanted to test your abilities. They still do. After all, it is not common for a reaper to graduate in his classes in a month with flying colours."

"I guess it would be a good thing that you only have one friend, everyone is cooling on their operations to finally get you to be close to your town and make more friends at that school of yours." Ikeda continued with his talking. "It is your choice, but the Department wouldn't recommend it."

"They hoped for another 'Ikeda' as An puts it." Ikeda teased as he ruffled the boy's strawberry hair. Gakushu did his best to remove himself away from his hand, it failed and the other won as he retracted back his hand. He won't admit it but Gakushu was glad they were going back to their old antics.

"You know, a reaper who talented enough to be put up with dispatches and spy missions at an early age." Ikeda smiled, the young boy looked at the man in horror, as he viewed himself like Ikeda, personality and all.

"Never." Gakushu objected and Ikeda laughed.

"It kind of backfired, but this would be only a 'thing'… and this type can be controlled." He gave more assuring words. "After maybe 5-ish years, we could work out the patterns and what to avoid."

"How?"

"From what I managed to gather, it seemed that what set you off was the concept and the harshness of reality." Ikeda gave his two-cents. "You snapped when you realised that Gakuhou could have been a father, but then what? Because he was human, he was going to die first and you live on for centuries afterwards. What was the point, why should I continue making him happy you ask yourself?"

"And for Ren, he had stolen your heart as it seems." Ikeda teased as he ruffled Gakushu's mop of strawberry blonde hair some more. Gakushu tried to push him away as his hair was quickly becoming a bird's nest and his face turned red as a tomato. Gakushu was almost regetting on telling Ikeda about that, although it was obviously ten times better than to tell Gretel. He felt a shiver going down his spine at the mere thought of Gretel founding out of Gakushu's feelings.

Ikeda retracted his hand back, his voice now going for a sombre tone."And as the first, he is going to die first before you could. Then you imagined that you would be the one who will be the one to witness his final breathe."

And then a horrible thought came flooding into Gakushu's head. "What about Ren!? I can't hang out with him anymore!?" He panicked.

"Shsssh. Deep breaths, deep breaths." Ikeda soothly whispered, calming the other down with breathing exercises. When Gakushu finally calmed down, Ikeda continued with his words.

"You can still hang out with him but we need to adjust a bit of your mindset." Ikeda explained, but Gakushu was confused as he titled his head to his words.

"You need to think like Gretel."

'…Oh.' Gakushu knew what Ikeda was talking about. Ivan told him the strangeness of the case around Gretel. Her love for Hansel would had long ago drove her into a mental breakdown, into madness like the many reapers Ivan had personally witness himself over his 40 years in his career.

"Her love for her twin brother would had push her into insanity long ago, but she turned that love into her end-goal." Ikeda repeated the words that Ivan told to him just earlier in his mind.

"If I earn my forgiveness, I can have my human body back and then I can be reincarnated so I can be will Hansel again."

"If I earn my forgiven, I can have my human body back and then I can be reincarnated so I can be with Ren again."

"If I reincarnate then I can be with Ren again. Focus on Ren." Ikeda glanced over to the reaper of almost 4 years as he took it all in. "From your expressions, you were already thinking about it since your first met him. It could decrease your chances of having an episode."

"The burden you would have now is that you would be required to have a partner coming to you for everything, shifts and daily routine out into the mundane." Ikeda voiced.

"Oh… I understand." Gakushu knew that, and Ikeda was going to be that partner. It was obviously to the boy when he was going to that class and Ikeda going to be an assistant teacher for class-E.

"There will be sometimes you can be alone but for the most part. But that partner cannot be Rilliane, and the Department decided that your partner is going to be me…"

"… I'm sure you know why." And Gakushu nodded to his words.

"It was best before, when you were yet unaffected and somewhat watching over Rilliane." Rilliane too had mental-breakdowns, unlike Gakushu that the eventual deaths of his father and friend was his breaking point, Rilliane's occurs because she could no longer remember or see what eye colour she once had.

"She would always be my main senior." Gakushu declared, Ikeda smiled as he felt the same for his man senior.

"I know." Ikeda smiled, just like An.

"Hey Ikeda?" Gakushu whispered, his face flushed like a strawberry and his lips trembled. Ikeda felt a hand tugged on the sleeves of his coat.

"Yeah Shu?"

"Could you stay here a bit longer?"

"Sure."

* * *

_"Focus on Ren."_

That was Ikeda's advice as it echoed to him as he stood in front of Class-E. Dressed in his signature uniform made to be seen by the mundane. Gakushu blankly looked over the class, he could easily tell that Ikeda was proud of his work, as he worked up the class with tension, as if it was a stage-play.

"Wait, were you going to be their mole?" Rio meeked, Gakushu coldly glanced over to the blonde girl and she flinched. Even Karasuma was suffocating under the intensity of his eyes, those eyes that spoke of experiencing the horrors of the world.

"Yes, it would had gave me the perfect cover. A student of this school, who lost his place as first to be transferred to class-E. Would anyone had questioned it?" The strawberry blonde nodded, confirming of their fears. Gakuhou looked like he was slapped multiple times. "Until, certain variables forced out to change the plan."

'No, nobody would had questioned it.' Everyone in the class thought.

"The boy who wanted get back at his father, who suffered under his hand. His teachings unreasonable, corrupting the youth with his ugly ideology, where it could had led his students to take the final solution." Gakushu remarked, Gakuhou blanched at the thought, the only reason why he had to change his teaching ideology was to avoid another incident that he has never forgave himself of. However, his father didn't know that Gakushu decided to follow the path as that old student of his did, all those years ago.

How cruel fate was on Gakuhou Asano, he changed his ways to save his son only instead to set his path as a Grim reaper.

"Now, Gakuhou Asano." Gakushu coldly said as he turned to his father, "You will say to the school that your son has joined class-E for allowing Karma Akabane to take first rank." Karma felt his achievement hallow now, all of their achievements when faced against the strawberry blonde felt meaningless.

"Not doing so, well… everyone would know what is going to happen neck." He darkly chucked, he shot glares that his father didn't deserve that expression. "You are not allow to tell your son's connection to the Department nor it's existence to the public." The class could see how Ikeda was enjoying this as he smirked.

"I will no longer stay at that house you called home." Gakushu said as he side-glanced his father, "I will stay elsewhere, far closer to the Department." He walked to his father, and whispered to his ear.

"That's what you get for hurting Ren." Gakushu darkly muttered to his father's ear.

'Stage one, disconnecting from that man.' Ikeda thought to himself as he smiled, 'Good.'

Gakushu pulled away, and Gakuhou looked deeply into his inhumane eyes. He hide his flinch very well.

"Alright, we will see you at work tomorrow." Ikeda sang as he grabbed the back of the boy's collar and started to drag him away. He happily waved to the class.

"Let's go junior." He chirped. Gakushu continued his glare at his father as he was effective dragged away by his co-worker, arms crossed as the heels of his boots skidded on the wooden floors.

If this happened in the presence of the Department, this would had been funny. And some worry for some possible broken ribs from Ikeda.

* * *

"Ikeda, you bastard!" Gakushu cried when he realised that he was being dragged away and by the collar too. By the time he realised, he was already in the parking lot and standing infront of one of many of Ikeda's luxury sports car.

"Come on Shu, I want to go to Disneyland." Ikeda whined as he entered his car and started the engine. Gakushu was very close on lifting this car and throw it, along with the annoying bastard.

But he had enough drama for one day. "We already went this year." He grumbled as he entered, closed the door and strapped himself the seatbelt.

"Tourament arcs don't count." Ikeda chirped as he adjusted the side mirrors.

"Oh don't you remind me. The initial matches were beyond belief." Gakushu exclaimed, Ikeda agreed. "I lost a few years."

"But you're a reaper-"

"Figure of speech, you bastard!" Gakushu yelled at the man's ear only for the other's response to laugh.

"Haha, good times." Ikeda laughed and now they were on the road.

"I rather not be dangling for dear life on a piece of rope as I fly across the city." The strawberry blonde grumbled with his arms crossed.

"Or that time when I missed the opportunity in seeing An in a wedding dress." And Gakushu blushed, because he was the one who wore that dress for the first set of games, the first team-up game that felt more of a sport festival activity.

"You saw her half naked when you looked down."

"I'm in a moral dilemma." Ikeda sighed.

"You perverted playboy."

"Huh, that's a new one."


	9. First day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "First day on the job Shu."

**First day**

Gakushu and Ikeda sat by at the lounge area of the central part of the Department, waiting for some information by Rilliane before she goes off for China. Although he already knew what it was going to be about, Ivan earlier sent an email to him.

'We have completed the bugging at 1:00 AM in under 20 minutes. Here is the where the wiring, cameras and tabs are placed. I and Lucia Mühe will be in charge of this surveillance don't worry.

-Ivan Ivanov.' The text said, the Department has decided to implement cameras around the facility. He imagine the scene as the two former secret police officers entering into school grounds donned in their reaper uniform along with a team. As they go upstairs for Class-E in the dead of night, to go bug the classes of the building, quick and efficient as it played similar to the scene from the film, the Lives of Others, as Wiesler and his team bugged Dreyman's apartment complex. It was more fitting as Lucia Mühe was once from the Stasi.

"Cameras are set." Gakushu mused as he placed his phone back into his pockets. He wore his school uniform, on his lap was a black back-pat and inside was his signature double-breasted black coat as well as his white cargo pants folded neatly. Along with his reports and papers. He was breaking the uniform rules if you looked closely, as underneath his slacks, he wore military styled boots. He has an excuse, he was in Class-E now.

"Ivan and Lucia will be leading the operation." Rillane was explaining in full detail of their new assignment once more. "And we have stay at some housing prepared in Kungigaoko town. This will have the door to reach to the Department"

'Oh, Gretel has a place in town.' Gakushu quickly remembered after Gretel visited him when he was in his room packing his bag after his discharge of the Ward. She had a place not too far from the school which acted more of a design studio than home. 'Although, I don't think she has the door…'

Rilliane paused as she eyed over her report. She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose as if he was expecting something awful to come "With Ikeda."

'Oh come on!'

Rilliane was quite happy that there were no incidences where Ikeda had to be sent to the Medical Division to get his ribs fixed again this morning. Gakushu however was unresponsive, when as he was being dragged away by Ikeda who whistled and his boots skidded on the wooden floors.

The Department found it amusing. Another day at the Department it seems.

* * *

The teachers looked in bewilderment as they stare at the sports car entering into the teacher's parking space. Then a man with dyed platinum hair came out from the driver's seat, the female teachers swooned, like an A-list movie star has entered into their presence. The males however grumbled.

"First day on the job Shu." The man sang as he closed the door. And what surprised them was Gakushu Asano walking out as well and he closed the door a bit too loud. The others awed at the boy as he looked as if he wanted to scratch his car with the back of his heel.

"Don't you dare start Ikeda." Gakushu growled as he straightened his blazer as he fitted on a large black back-pat. "I do not want to start off my day with the corpses of trees in my wake."

"Hey, and this will be my first teaching gig. Go easy on me." Ikeda whined as the two walked their way to Class-E.

"Isn't this the new assistant teacher for that class?" One teacher asked.

* * *

"Good morning." Ikeda cheered as he stormed into the staff room. The three teachers jolted from his sudden entry, Gakushu could only sighed. "Oh Kuma, I will be your assistance teacher until me and Shu gets called off. I'm hoping that it is America, because Disney~ So what's the plan?"

'Keep it together Gakushu.' Gakushu told himself as Ikeda used that nickname of his.

"Um-"

"Classes will begin in 20 minutes. First lesson will be math, second lesson will be history. Break, lesson 3 and 4 will be English and Science. Finally the last two lessons on Wednesday will be home economics." Gakushu blandly stated.

"Ha, you already knew." Ikeda mused.

"Of course I knew, Gretel gave me the lesson layout." Gakushu hissed.

"Gretel?" Irina voiced at the new name, fearing that it was another Department member.

"The one who took my place when Karasuma took me, or her to the 'meeting'. When you gave her the green rubber knife and the schedule." Gakushu turned to Karasuma.

Karasuma was shocked once more, he could barely tell the difference between the two. Although the other Gakushu had a strange elegance to him, but he only and rightfully assumed it was due to his strict upbringing. But for a girl to be able to imitate the gestures, characteristics, appearance, and even down to his voice, he shivered of the resources that the Department has.

"We will needing all reports on activities and student records. Further recording will be done."

"Shu, don't be like Zeus." "We don't need another one like Thomas."

Gakushu's eyes twitched "Ikeda, we are on a job." The three teachers that the man was getting on the boy's nerve. The other only cheekily smiled as he whistled.

"I think we already scared the class and their teachers enough for today. Just wait until tomorrow."

"I will see you in 20 minutes." The strawberry blonde sighed and he turned his back away for the door. He walked out.

"What he said." Ikeda sang as he exited the room to follow after the strawberry blonde. The three had no idea what to next of the two.

* * *

The class was having a major discussion about Gakushu as it was expected.

"You think that Korosensei would notice it?"

"How did he join?"

"Maybe it won't be so bad…"

"This is Gakushu we are talking about."

And then the first bell rang to signal the first lesson, Korosensei walked inside the class with Gakushu and Ikeda following behind him. Each wearing glasses behind their chartreuse phosphorescent eyes. Everyone felt like they were drowning from the tense atmosphere. Korosensei wondered if they were his actual eye-colour, he was sure that they were violet.

"As you all know from yesterday, I have been in the Department since I was 10." Gakushu said with an expressionless look, "I am Gakushu Asano of the Japanese Branch and I work Retrieval Division, I have some experience in Intel and specialised dispatches. I look forward in working with you."

"I'm just Ikeda, I have been in the Department for 10 years now and from the Japanese Branch. I work in Retrieval, Intel, specialised dispatches. I mainly worked for the Intelligence branch. I will Kuma's assistant." Ikeda gave a grin to the class, as he gestured his head to Korosensei. "Do not worry, as stated many times unless we receive orders, we will not kill your alien."

Karasuma remembered a case earlier this year. A high government French official was found dead but reports say that he simply died of a heart attack. However a man in a black suit was seeing jumping off from the building with a garden slasher, passing all security. Then a letter signed by the Department was sent. So the dark haired teacher went to the most logical conclusion, they kill upon orders. It was more unsettling when there is a 14 year old who joined at 10 was among the ranks of the Department.

"We will observe at the back." The two went to the back of the class and the class tried to go back to their routine. However that was difficult when you have someone silently stood at the back and writing down notes in his notebook. Especially the sharp colour of his eyes, chartreuse phosphorescent it was, how inhumane it was eyeing at the students.

Math was fine, Gakushu and Ikeda just sat at the back, recording and writing down whatever they did in their reports. The strawberry blonde earlier did a review on the math work the class was doing, he quickly finished it. Gakushu had the look of indifference when observing many of the class's numerous fail attempts on assassinating the yellow octopus teacher. If anything, the only thing he did was writing more notes as for the entirely of the lesson he stayed quiet. Ikeda only smiled and snickered, like he could do a better job.

Ikeda whispered something into Gakushu's ear, the other scrowled as he waved the man off. Ikeda only grinned. "Come on, this is what Rilliane does."

"Fine." Gakushu harshly whispered back. When Korosensei was running and or teleporting due to his speed, he looked over Ikeda and Gakushu. "…" The two were playing tic-tac-toe.

"So, you heard? We got a new kid joined yesterday from this town. He came to us after jumping." Ikeda whispered as he drew another game.

'Jumping?' Korosensei thought it was a slang term that a boy attacked a Department member. Stupid yes, but it was daring enough that the organisation allowed him joined the exclusive team.

"Yeah, I think it was someone from the Chinese Division taking him in." Gakushu won another game.

"I thought it was from the Vietnamese Division?" Ikeda voiced as he drew up another graph, resting his cheek with his hand. It was a strange conversation for the teacher to say the least, but useful as well.

History came along for the second period and the class is watching a documentary about the Secret Police of East Germany, the Stasi with Korosensei explaining the history about East Germany and the Berlin Wall. Gakushu stayed quiet and Ikeda was dozing off as the class watched a documentary of said topic.

'So this is what it's like in those meetings?' Ikeda thought as he was dying of boredom. The novelty of an 'alien' teacher had long worn off. He knew that Gakushu was bored out of his mind, he already learnt all of this from Lucia and her husband, Wolfie. 'Blah, blah, blah, blah.' The light haired man though as he could barely register to Korosensei's words.

And then something caught the two's attention, the name of Wolfgang Mühe was spoken to the class. It was a familiar name, whose nickname was 'Wolfie'. Soon Korosensei talked about a tragic story of an actor, now the two reapers' alertness was turned on to the max.

The documentary soon showed of a theatre play with Wolfie acting the leading role, "Wolfgang Mühe was a famous victim to the GDR and the East German Secret Police." Korosensei explained, Gakushu held a slightly shock expression as he sees the clips of Wolfie performing.

Gakushu was in awed of the pastel green haired man that covered half of his left eye. 'He looked so happy and so carefree…' He told himself. Ikeda however dreaded what would came next though, he cursed at the timing of this.

'Why this after he came out of the Ward days earlier?!' Ikeda cursed, he wanted to bury his face in his hands. 'It's barely been three days.'

"His fiancé was a part of the Stasi who was sent to spy on the actor." Korosensei continued, "He was found to have Western books and was then blacklisted." The teacher was hinting to the students that his supposed fiancé was the one who reported this to her superiors.

'Wrong.' Gakushu thought as he glared at the teacher. 'Wrong!' Students around him could hear the intensity of his glare as it was aimed for Korosensei's head. 'You're wrong!' He wanted to demand the teacher to apologise to Lucia for his lies. The lies that were being spoken to her as she watched through the cameras.

Ikeda observed the boy while Korosensei continued with his speech, "Being blacklisted basically is denying people's employment, so Mr Mühe can no longer act."

"Wolfgang later committed suicide." It shows the body of Wolfie after he allowed himself to be run over by a car. Gakushu was shaking, his hands were shaking, he gritted on his teeth as he glared at the teacher.

Gakushu didn't realise that the whole class was watching him, he smirked when Korosensei flinched under his glare. 'The bastard deserves it.'

"Shu."

"Shu." Ikeda's words brought Gakushu back into the classroom, he realised that there was a slight sting to his writing hand and he looked down to find his pen snapped. "I know you are irritated, but… you have to calm down."

"Keep it together." Ikeda whispered as he passed up a napkin and Gakushu took in a deep breath, he released the pen from his hand that was dyed in blue ink. He took the offer and wiped the excess ink as he muttered 'thanks' to his senior. He took a pair of black gloves from his pockets and wore them for the duration of the lesson.

No-one in the class spoke about this as they went back to the lesson.

* * *

The bell rang to signal the first break, Ikeda was dragging himself to the staff-room for his much needed coffee. Gakushu just wanted his sweets that was dashed in his bag.

"I was going to die in there." Ikeda whined as he collapsed onto the worn coach. "Blah, blah, blah, that was all I could hear." He gestured his complaints with the grasping of his hand.

"Ikeda, appearances." Gakushu said as he opened a packet of pocky, strawberry flavoured of course. He sat at an air-chair besides the couch as he bit into his pink treat.

"Say, can you teach me how to make desserts?" Ikeda asked out of nowhere that obviously caught Gakushu off-guard. "Got anything easy that relates to coffee? We got Home ED in lesson 5 and 6."

"Why with the sudden question?" Gakushu immediately thought that it was for Ikeda beloved senior, An.

"Noct told me that you were the best teacher, I mean, look at you and your sweet tooth." Ikeda answered, and Gakushu had his jaw dropped.

"Wait-wait, you had Noct cook together with you?!" Gakushu gasped, he almost jolted out of his seat. The last thing Gakushu found Noct cooking, a few months ago before the raven haired boy's departure to Brussels. Noct was trying to melt some chocolates as Valentine's Day was coming up, the strawberry blonde was only passing by of one of the many kitchens in the Department. He just so happened to pass by with Noct covered in icing-sugar, and in front of him it was pot that was on fire… again.

"Yeah, not the best move on my part." Ikeda boasted as he laughed, he now laid on the couch on his back as he barked to the ceiling. "But man, the kid was cute. I could see why the 'Eggnoct' pairing is so popular. I'm surprised that Gretel hasn't done any moves yet. And the dating thing doesn't really count."

Gakushu dated Noct last year before Christmas, just to see if Ignis had any sort of reaction. If the almond haired man did, he did a splendid job on hiding it. So that plan was chucked out of the window. "First off, Gretel did win in some way. Noct asked her for help with his 'man'. And she made him confirmed with his feelings."

"Say, you think she already knew?" Gakushu paled and shivered.

"You know what she said to him." Ikeda too slightly paled.

"What?"

"It was about time, I already knew that the moment you joined the Department. You talk in your sleep. Now what plan do you want?" Ikeda quoted what Antonio said when he passed by the duo at the food court.

"But Ignis only joined years later-"

"Sorry that I'm interrupting something." A new voice joined the conversation. Ikeda and Gakushu turned their heads, and they were met with a man. The well-built man in front of them had spikey black hair that was combed black, his dark eyes were piercing and in his hand was a first-aid kit.

"Karasuma-sensei." Gakushu voiced his surprised. He interally sighed in relief that they weren't really walking directly about the Department. Although he cursed himself for talking these sort of topics, he may had damaged the Department's 'scary' image.

Karasuma was confused of the conversation he was overhearing, the two talked as if they were long-time friends, not like professional and cold members of the Department. Talks about lesson for cooking and love-lives, not exactly what you expect from the Deparmtent. Although he had only matters on the 'hand'.

"Hand." Karasuma said as he eyed at Gakushu.

"…Sorry?" Gakushu voiced his confusion, Ikeda blanky watched the scnee.

"Hand, the right one, now." Karasuma affirmed. Gakushu did nothing and so Karasuma did the strangest thing, he pinched around his sleeves. Gakushu looked over to Ikeda.

Ikeda only shrugged, "Just let him." Gakushu took out his glove and showed his ink hand to the PE teacher.

"It is good that there aren't any cuts, but I'm worried with the ink." Karasuma stated as he checked his hand, he opened the kit and took out a container. "Here, its tea-tree oil. Put a few drops on a clean dry cloth and scrub on the affected area. If it doesn't remove all the ink immediately, you may need to repeat or use a fingernail brush to scrub the crevices of your skin. Repeat until all the ink has been removed."

"Thanks." Gakushu slightly blushed, taking note of the teacher's advice.

"Ha, you did the hand thing." Ikeda mused, he smiled at the two as he rested his hand under his chin.

"Excuse me?" Karasuma asked.

"The hand thing, where you pinch around the sleeves. My senior does that." Gakushu thought that it was cute.

'Senior?' Karasuma thought and immediately imagining a hierarchy within the Department. And it sounds exactly what he thought around the word 'senior'.

"I heard from Korosensei. What happened?" Karasuma asked as he stood up.

"…." Gakushu remained silent, looking down to the ground, Karasuma thought if there was something interesting going down there. Now that he realised it, Gakushu felt so small under his gaze.

Ikeda sighed, and answered for the boy. "Everything he said was wrong, at least around Wolfgang."

"… Why didn't you tell him then?" Karasuma asked the obvious question of the day.

"A, I just got orders from the Department that I could tell you this." Ikeda said as he lazily showed his phone, and there it was, the Department allowing this information to come out. "The Department has members inside all intelligence and government bodies, all of them. Telling you this simple fact would had place everyone working in the shit-hole."

"But the Department loves to be super vague and all, so we are now playing the game of 'who's who.' And as a power-play, one of the many proud traditions of the Department." Karasuma believed that was make the Department so unpredictable, they act as if they were any other person but highly dangerous behind their masks. He had to remind himself now dived too much into the earlier conversations, as hard as it was too.

"Wolfgang was actually blacklisted because of a fellow actor. After his suicide, fiancée and Stasi agent Lucia Franke quickly followed after him with a bullet to the head." Ikeda explained and then the bell rang.

Karasuma then sighed, "I have nothing on for the rest of the day but paperwork."

Ikeda saluted to the teacher. "I know that feel Mr Kuma." He smiled to Gakushu, "Right, Shu~"

"I have nothing else for that class, I got the information I need for today." Gakushu shrugged, "I know the pain. I have to write reports tonight"

"Even you?" Karasuma was hit with another surprise.

"Standard practice. Paperwork duty, everyone has to do it some point. Some more unluckily others.." Ikeda laughed. Arthur coughed, Karasuma swore he heard the name of Arthur under his cough. "Man, we had many adventures from the field of paper."

'Don't remind me.' Gakushu blanched from the many mishaps of Grell that the Department has to clean up, the red head reaper managed to misplace the whereabouts of demons. It was a mess a few months back when hibernated demons waking up and not knowing that the rules were changed, Gakushu had to fight a high-powered one when he went to Tokyo in one of his school holidays. Gakushu was slashed to the chest at some point.

As Karasuma was getting up to get himself a coffee to get himself prepared for the paperwork, hiding the fact that he was dumping spoonful's of sugar into the mug. Gakushu just got a text.

'She's at the Ward.' Ivan sent a text to Gakushu, he sighed. It was another day at the Department. He whispered the text to Ikeda, the two knew what happened and to who.


	10. His dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreams from a young boy, they have never changed, even after 20 years. The feelings remained the same.

**The next main chapter for Until the day I'm forgiven will soon be coming, I just need to write the rest of it and I'm just about ¾ done with it.**

* * *

**His dreams**

"And we're done!" An cheered and the reapers around her cheered alongside her as well. She and the team were cooped up in one of the many offices of the Department after pulling the short end of the stick and the prize of paperwork duty.

They all finished the paperwork given then since their four shift of paperwork duty, just in time to give some of the files to Gakushu and Ikeda to give to the teachers of Class-E. The female dressed in her black suit filed and packaged, she popped them on the tray and waited for someone to take them away. And they did, Thomas Freeman of the English Branch came into the room. The stoic male thanked the reapers of the room, he excused them from their dreaded paperwork duties and all cheered wildly. Somebody else will suffer in their place!

Thomas placed the trays of paper on his trolley, before going to the next office for another pile of trays. Everyone there started to pack up for the next group, An drowned her third cup of straight black coffee. She woke up 3AM in Kungigaoko's time for this shift.

'At least my caffeine intake isn't bad when compared to Rilliane's addiction.' An mentally chuckled and she had her hair go through her hair and then to her pony tail. Something felt missing…

"Crap, I think I left my hairpin in that file!" She jolted out from her seat from panick and slammed her hands on the table.

"Why?" James asked.

"We ran out of paperclips." An simply answered.

"… Say, how would a human react with small traces of material made in the Department?" An hoped that the hairpin wasn't in the pile for Class-E but instead for the group stationed in Belgium to watch demon activity. The same group that housed both Ignis and Noct.

"Don't know." Johnny shrugged. "At least it wasn't your Death Scythe." The other hairpin that was struck into her ponytail was her death scythe.

"Yeah…" An whispered as she touched the back of her hair to feel the other pin.

"Aren't those gem stones made from your blood?" Hoshino pointed out as she recounted of how red the stones that formed five-petal flowers where.

"Why is that a thing?" Mark asked.

"It was a phrase! I thought it was cool!" An yelled with a blushing face. "And I felt bad, Johnny and Ikeda made something similar with their blood for my birthday and I had leftovers after I made their gifts!"

Johnny didn't like the looks the rest of the group but An gave to him. He knew that they were copying Gretel's infamous gesture.

"Don't you dare start."

* * *

"… What's this?" Karasuma asked himself as he stared at the top corner of the files given by Gakushu for him to read. Something on the reconstruction of the moon, anyway there was something red staring at him.

'A hairpin?' He asked himself as he picked the pin off and closely observed it. It had a red five-petal flower attached to the black piece of metal. Each petal was made from some sort of crystal and moulded into this shape.

'… Is this how they flirt?' A groan almost escaped from his mouth. He had enough problems for the day, he didn't help a horde of females going up to him for a date. His heart already belong to someone else long ago.

He quickly remembered the talk shortly when they were at the staff room from two certain workers. They were starting about new uniform rules about the assignment, something about wearing their black suits as if they were in the Office. And there they were, the two were wearing identical suits, black pants, black tie, black leather shoes and suit jacket with a white buttoned shirt underneath. It was as if the two came out of the movie set for Man in Black. Gakushu just changed out from his school uniform to avoid suspicion from the main building.

Their latter conversation afterwards added some context in his current situation.

"Wait wait, they are already having photos set up for Karasuma." Gakushu stuttered. "How?! Not that I'm complaining or anything, but-"

"Some profile pictures got leaked and girls are climbing all over him. James even said he's hot." Ikeda said as he sipped his coffee for the morning. He then shrugged. "Meh, as long as An doesn't even give a blink to him. I don't care."

'Of course.' Gakushu thought and wished that Ikeda was like that more often than going out of his way of stealing his sweets. He took a final bite of his strawberry-filled jam toast. Now that Karasuma thought about it, Gakushu was eating a lot of sweets since yesterday when he joined Class-E.

"I just hope this calms down there photos around me." Gakushu hugged himself with a strained smile. Ikeda gave him a sympathy back on the back as he shook his head with sympathy.

"I wouldn't count on that." Ikeda chuckled.

'… This is the infamous ghost organisation, the GRD… right?' Karasuma thought to himself as he stared over the hairpin. Now that he looked closely, he reminded him of a similar hairpin of a someone he used to know.

The white flower on the pin next to the red one brought back to the Australian summer and of white flowy summer dresses.

* * *

'I thought this would be interesting, for fucks sake we have a yellow octopus for a teacher.' Ikeda internally whined as he and Gakushu sat through Class-E's PE lesson.

The two reapers were watching the students as they completed training exercises. They sat on a wooden bench, eariler in Physics class. The two started to play the card game of Uno before being caught out by Korosensei. What shocked the class was that Gakushu was even playing while on work or how Ikeda napped through the entirely of Korosensei's lecture.

Ikeda was hoping that the day would get more interesting, he told himself that yesterday was a slow day but the thought of this being a daily occurrence was horrifying. He envied on how the alien teacher left to go visit Movie-world down in Queensland, Australia.

"I wished I had took that holiday to Dubai." Ikeda sighed as he sipped his fifth coffee of the day. He could understand better of how Gakushu's main senior Rilliane felt whenever she was in the 'meetings'.

'I really wanted that gold-plated Ferrari.'

"Then go." Gakushu said with a bored look as he flipped through another report sent by the Department. Ikeda whined and drew out fake tears, crying out of how his little brother was being mean. At this point, Gakushu gave up on having Ikeda behave on this assignment and acting as professional representatives.

"So, have you been talking to Ren?" Ikeda hoped to have something stimulate his mind and gossip was always the best route.

"We will not discuss this here." Gakushu retorted. He glared at the man as the other just giggled with one hand over his mouth. The gesture was known as the Gretel gesture. "Don't you stare start, why did I tell you about my feelings?"

"At least Gretel doesn't know." Ikeda laughed before it wavered. "Yet…"

The two shivered from the mere thought of Gretel playing matchmaker between Gakushu and Ren. The two's attention then shifted when Ikeda's phone started to go off.

"It's Ikeda." He picked up his phone.

Rilliane's voice came through. "So Ikeda, seeing that your voice isn't raspy from the pain, you haven't set up Gakushu-chan's temper, stolen his snacks or him breaking your ribs."

Ikeda could hear paper being ruffled along with screams for Grell's blood in the background. 'Must be in the Office.' Ikeda thought.

"Don't you mean hear?" Ikeda teased back, Gakushu rolled his chartreuse phosphorescent eyes behind his black-framed glasses.

"As much as I want to listen in to your jokes, Grell stuffed up again." Rilliane sighed and then she sipped which Ikeda assumes it was her usual cup of coffee. "I need you go visit that girl involved with the Tokyo incident."

" _The Tokyo incident, do you mean the incident where Shu was jumping from rooftop to rooftop chasing a high-level demon in Tokyo. However he was too late and the demon made a contact with a revenge seeking girl who thought Shu killed her brother when in actuality he was on his shifts and also has the ability to see us in our uniforms. After that Shu got trapped in the things magic before being able to break out, then later got slashed to the chest at some point with a rookie's death scythe."_  Ikeda recounted, entirety in English. He couldn't risk those mundane around them to hear about their operations, even if he wasn't taking the representative study very seriously.

"The very same. And the very same girl who made that contract." Rilliane affirmed. "You are free from your duties for at least two days or a day and a half, prepare for the trip tomorrow, you will be able to leave within an hour. And by the way, the Department just wants you to be there to basically stand there so you can bring in that game of monopoly. It is classed as my act in neutral meetings."

The two ignore the looks of Class-E as the phone conversation continued, they only started to pay attention when they heard the word of 'death scythe'. It reminded them of the assassin, the Shingami. Rilliane gave the final note. "Ivan will watch over the class."

"Gotcha. Although it wasn't like we were doing much in the first place." And with that, Ikeda ended the call. He looked up to the clear blue sky as he leaned back on the bench.

"Looks like we are free in an hour and we can finally leave this dump." Ikeda exclaimed and it definitely ticked off almost all of the students.

"... Now what?" Ikeda asked as he snapped back up. "I didn't bring anything with me, maybe I should bring my 3DS on Monday."

"I don't know. There is a glove and a baseball over here." Gakushu shrugged. Unknowing to the class, behind his report files was a Brecht poetry book along with his phone as he ignored more texts from Ren.

'He is even texting during class.' Gakushu felt bad that he was ignoring Ren but it needed to be done. He was a Grim Reaper and Ren was a human, the two are destined to be separated as the two walk differing paths. That and Gakushu didn't know how to talk to Ren after he 'joined' Class-E.

"It's not basketball but it will have to do." Ikeda said as he got up, Gakushu closed his file and grabbed the ball before throwing the glove to the man. Preferably to his face but the other caught it with ease. The two glanced to Class-E and they quietly diverted their looks away.

" _So, about Ren."_  Ikeda casually asked in French, whistling to his position.

" _Quiet pudding thief."_  Gakushu growled back in French.

" _What? The guy is texting you like crazy, just talk to the guy already."_ Ikeda whined. Gakushu glared sharply at the other. " _When I showed one of the text to Gretel, she cried for you. 'Gakushu, please talk to me. Please, I need to see you. Even if it is just your voice, it will be enough.' … Man, I can see why you are smittened with him."_

" _This is none of your business! Did you hack into my phone?!"_  Gakushu yelled in the language of love. He hated how Ikeda was laughing at him in that annoying booming voice of his. They once more caught the attention of the class back to the pair and a small detail came into attention to the strawberry blonde. 'Language of love…. why did I confessed everything to pudding thief!? He planned this!'

"It's not that hard when you have a friend named Viktor who just so happens to work in the Technology Division." Ikeda clicked his tongue and gave out his signature smirky grin. He was proud of his work in reducing Shu into a blushing mess, he was so tempted to go and pinch those reddening ears.

"Ikeda!" Gakushu roared as he threw the ball aimed to the man's face. Ikeda however smirked and swiftly and effortlessly dodged the throw. Ikeda though wondered why Gakushu had a panicked face replacing his earlier maddening blush.

"Look out! Karasuma-sensei!" Gakushu yelled. Ikeda quickly snapped back, he couldn't even mutter a curse as the ball through by an angry reaper was heading towards the man.

"What-" The black haired teacher voiced and it was too late. The ball smashed into Karasuma's temple. And he was out for the day as he fell to the ground, face-down.

"Fuck." Ikeda muttered to himself as he, Gakushu and the class started to surround the fallen man. The two ignore the hateful glares of the students. "I'm not an expert, so I don't know if you fractured his skull."

Ikeda kneeled down and turned the fallen back to lie on his back. "At least you didn't broke his nose. Or his ribs."

"I think we should take him back with us." Gakushu said. The class gasped and protested his suggestion, again the two ignored their cries. "

Ikeda waved to the class. "Well it was fun seeing you but we have to go now." He picked up the well-toned Karasuma with ease like a sack of potatoes as if he weighed nothing.

"Wait!" Megu yelled, when everyone turned their heads around to where Ikeda and Gakushu supposed to be. The two already vanished, It was as if they just teleported, as they didn't heard their footsteps.

* * *

"You think you can buy me some carrot cake from the cafe?" Ikeda mused.

"Seeing that you are most likely talking about An's carrot cake, it is already gone by the time we get their." Gakushu growled under his breath. He really wanted some. He distracted his desire for cake by going through his smartphone, texting in the Department that they are bringing in a mundane to be checked in the Medical Ward. Although they would usually leave those the reapers injured in the hands of a normal hospital, Karasuma just dealt with a hit from an angry Gakushu.

"Ha, good control on that temper of yours." Ikeda boastfully laughed.

"I do not have a temper." Gakushu kept his voice in check and didn't go in to hear at the man's ears.

"And I don't have a thing for An, gotcha." Ikeda mused as he swift moved away from an elbow coming its way to his ribs. "Careful, I'm carrying Kuma here."

* * *

"Loves me."

"Loves me not."

"Loves me."

"..."

'I know that voice.'

Karasuma woke up to see a little boy with black hair sitting by in the grass. He was plucking off the petals one by one as he blankly watched. He sat with his knees close to his body at the park. He plucked the final petal and received the final verdict.

"Loves me not."

'… I remember this.' Karasuma was looking back to his childhood memories, the little boy before him was his eight year old self. He could had swore that he was a bit taller than this, but then again he was a sickly child.

'That means!' He looked around, for any sign as he desperately searched. And there she was.

A girl around the age of 18 was walking in that same park, in both of her hands were two cans of soft drinks. And it was icy cold, perfect for the hot and sunny weather of an Australian summer. She had long jet black hair that reached down to her waist and was tied in a ponytail. Her bangs covered her forehead and it curled to the right and her eyes gently shined the colours of chocolate brown.

His heart fluttered as his breath hitched. She wore a long summer dress with sleeves only halfway to her arm. Beneath that were white bandages that wrapped around her arms. Her name was Anna. Karasuma warmly smiled as he watched her, his first love.

His first love, she was the one who inspired Karasuma of what he was now, the one who made his person. However the days of sunshine and happiness ended when he needed to return back to Japan. She no longer was a part in his world anymore, it has been like that for years. He felt guilt that he was using Irina to fill in the emptiness after Anna left, but no matter what he did it could never be full.

Anna noticed that the small boy wasn't paying attention at all. She hoped as she tread carefully and quiet, she could surprise the boy with a cold can contacting his cheek. Maybe a 'yelp' or a 'kya' sound from the boy.

Why did Karasuma feel her thoughts and feelings? He told himself that it was only a dream, although he wanted this to last forever. He somewhat hoped that Gakushu's throw would land him coma.

She slowly approached to the small boy, she noticed of the discarded flowers around him and their petals plucked.

'What is he doing now?' That girl thought to herself, she slightly bent over and closely saw a daisy in his hands. He was plucking its petals off one by one while he chanted 'Loves me, loves me not.'

She had to hold in her laughter, 'So cute!' She thought that this boy couldn't get any more adorable than he already was. Karasuma wanted to both blush and protest. He wanted to protect her, not to be cute.

'Does he have that crush with the girl next door?'

'Wrong.' Karasuma mentally said to Anna's thoughts.

'I should store this in for later to tease him.' She playfully thought as she continued to watch the little hands pluck the petals off. 'What will it end up with?'

"A love me not." Karasuma answered but his words went into deaf ears.

Then boy said 'Loves me' and one petal was left on the stud. He hovered his fingers about the white petal and she could tell that he was pouting. Anna always knew what Karasuma was feeling.

'Oh, is it a love me not? Aw, how disappointing.' She smiled to herself cheekily. She prepared to have the can touch his chubby cheeks. Karasuma sighed but he kept to his smile, he missed this.

"Anna…" His child-self softly whispered and his body shook a bit.

'… Did he knew that I was here?!' She internally panicky and froze on her spot. Karasuma couldn't help but laugh when he saw her get flustered. It was very rare and he didn't even know if he ever saw her like that, she was always calmed and collected. She was fun and cheeky at times. But the little boy still had his back faced her.

"She doesn't hate me, she doesn't?" The little boy whimpered, he let out a sniffle and the girl could tell that he was crying. As one hand still had the flower, he used his free arm and rubbed it to his eyes. The adult Karasuma was embarrassed and knew he was blushing mad, of course Anna had bear witness at this scene of him crying… again.

'So much of being her little King.' He sighed to himself once more, using one of the many nicknames she had given to him.

Her smile quickly wavered and her face held a small frown, Karasuma hate the fact that he was the one who was doing that but she quickly gained back that smile.

'Ah, you're so silly…" She softly smiled, she noticed how many flowers had their petals pulled out and she placed the drinks down on the grass.

'She somehow always knew what I was thinking…'

The boy looks down at his plucked flower, soon he noticed of the petals rained in front of him. 'Eh…? How was that possible?'

"Anna loves Kara very much." A voice called out from behind and the little boy saw that the small white petals sprinkled all over him. He tilted his hand up and there she was, in her fluttering white dress.

"A-Anna!" He jolted and almost fell back. The tears continued to fall down his reddened cheeks.

'She somehow always knew what to say…'

Kara looked in surprise, the tears continued to fall down his soft chubby cheeks. She bent down to meet at eye level, she ruffled his short hair. "You're were always such a cry-baby." She teased as she went to pinch his tear-stained cheeks. She rubbed the tears away with her thumb.

"Now where is my smile, my little king?" She pinched it enough that it won't hurt the child, she moulded it upwards to turn that frown into a smile.

"I told you, my names is Karasuma!" The young Karasuma yelled as he tried to pull away from her grip.

"… Ka-ra?"

"Ka-ra-su-ma!"

Karsuma smiled at this memory, even if was a dream as he was hearing her thoughts, he wanted to rewatch this scene over and over again.

* * *

"He's up." A voice called out to him as he opened his piercing dark eyes. He felt the pain around the back of his skull, he slowly got up from his waist as he rubbed that exact spot.

He turned to see Ikeda and Gakushu eating cake by his side. He could see that Gakushu was yelling at the man while the other laughed away. It was very surreal to see Gakushu acting like his age than how he portrayed himself back when he was in the main building. Gakushu quickly stopped his shouting matching while sporting a face that resembled like a cherry tomato.

"It's going to bruise but it will be fine." A man with dark blue hair in the style of a pompadour said as he checked over Karasuma's head. He wore a white medical coat buttoned up and there was a name tag on the right side of his chest that reads 'Kim Tae-sik.'

"Thanks Tae-sik." Ikeda patted the man on the man like a hyperactive child. The blue haired man shook his head in disapproval of the lack of professionalism from his friend but going from what the Department was saying. Everyone was treating it as it was a meeting between the Angels and Demons, meaning nobody was going to take it seriously.

"I'm going on break in five minutes, want anything?" Tae-sik straighten his back, Karasuma couldn't help but feel intimidated under the man's gaze. Something about that eye colour of his, the bright neon green of chartreuse phosphorescent sends shivers down his spine whenever he looks into them. It didn't help that Gakushu and Ikeda share the same shade as the man, it felt so inhumane.

"We need some dinner, French for me." Ikeda gave out a toothy grin, resting his cheek with his arm.

"Italian, if Feli has that pasta going around, take some for me." Gakushu answered. The doctor nodded.

He then turned to Karasuma once more. "You?"

"-It's fine. I don't need anything." Karasuma hated how panic he sounded, not the best impression to give up to two members of the GRD.

Tae-sik stared down at the man, Karasuma couldn't help but squirm under his gaze. "I will get you something light then." Then he walked off and slide the bed-screen opened before closing it behind him.

Karasuma massaged his head, "What happened?"

"Well, me and Shu-" Ikeda ignored Gakushu's correction as he continued with the story. "-did some game of catch and Shu over here threw it a little bit too hard. Then bam! Right to your face! You been out for hours. I'm surprised that you woke up this early after dealing a blow like that." Ikeda boasted as he burst into laughter.

"Who was he?" Karasuma pointed to the bedscreen.

"Well, Kim and I were juniors under the same main senior. So I guess that makes us brothers." Ikeda mused to himself, he never really thought about it that much. As much as the two would death-glare any straight male who gets close to An, Tae-sik didn't have that type of feelings for her. He could best describe it as-

That train of thought was immediately cut when he turned to the reaper of almost four years. " _What do you think Shu?"_  He turned to the young boy in French.

"It's Gakushu." Gakushu corrected the man once again for god knows how many times. He then answered Ikeda's question back in French. " _If Ivan can be my uncle. Lucia my aunt, Arthur and Gretel as my siblings and Rilliane as my mother. It could be."_

Ikeda turned back to Karasuma. "Anything after that is a secret." He smiled as he zipped his lips.

"Why did you stay?" Karasuma asked. It felt odd that the pair stayed just to see if he was okay,

"Frankly, we had nothing else to do. No shift, no paperwork, nothing left to do. And we are already packed up for Tokyo tomorrow." Ikeda answered bluntly.

"What."

"You would had found out anyway but me and Shu has some business in Tokyo." Ikeda shrugged his arms out. Then there was a beep coming from his pockets, he went into it and took out a phone that was a similar model to Karasuma's. "Oh lookie here, there is a text that reads that the Department officials will be off to Tokyo and won't be there to observe Class-E on Friday." He casually threw it to Karasuma's lap. The other jolted out to grab it, and there it was. 'Department officials will be off campus, continue to do the routine.'

"We have to make sure that you didn't ended up dead." Ikeda added, he turned to Gakushu and started to dug his gloved hand into Gakushu's strawberry blonde hair. And ruffled it madly.

"Department members are allowed to hurt anything as long we don't kill them at the end of it. And when up against this guy's strength, we need to double check." Gakushu tried to slap away the hand, after a good minute or so, he was successful although his hair resembled of a certain Russian reaper.

"I need to give an apology." The strawberry blonde coughed, ignoring the fact that his hair currently resembles a bird nest, tangled and curly like Ivan's black curly hair. "Since I was the one who threw the ball."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, an accident is an accident." Karasuma said, then he felt a sting at his temple. He went to massage that area. "Just, try to be careful next time."

"See you at work Kuma. We will be back next week" Ikeda ruffled the man's dark hair. Karasuma couldn't help but have his eyes twitched from his contact. The light haired man hummed to himself as he went through the other man's hair for a good solid minute.

"Not exactly like Ivan's." Ikeda said as he turned to Gakushu. "What do you think?"

While the two had a conversation of which colleague's hair resembled Karasuma's now ruffled hair, the other had an internal dialog. He thought that the way Ikeda's hand goes, it felt similar, like it was copied right from his childhood.

The black haired government agent acting as a teacher just noticed a glass of water next to him on a bed stool. His throat felt dry and so he drank

"I'm going to rest for a bit before getting back home." The non-Department member said as he laid back on the bed. 'I feel drowsy.'

"Well, once you wake up. You will be back at home anyway." Ikeda said before he lost consciousness.

When he woke up again, from a dream where his younger self was eating pancakes his caretaker made for breakfast. He was currently resting on his couch back in his home.

* * *

That night, he didn't have another dream of his first love. When he came back to his home, in the comfort of his couch. He couldn't even batter an eye that the Department knew the address of his home.

He saw that there was a bag sitting in the middle of his coffee table. He carefully went through the bag, the plastic russled and he pulled out a bento box. There was another box, it was black, long and slender. He opened it to find a pair of chopsticks.

On the bento box, there was a crudely drawn chibi version of Ikeda's face, with a wink and a tongue stuck out in the corner. 'You fell asleep when Tae-sik came with your dinner, here you go. You can go microwave it for 3 minutes.'

'... This is the infamous ghost organisation… right?' Karasuma had so many questions, he knew that Ikeda was dangerous, the look in his neon green eye screams at him that he should run away. It was the same for Gakushu Asano. He had never seen a look on a student like that, if anything he only saw it in his colleagues after they came back from a mission.

He eat his packaged dinner as he set us to finish his daily work, reports, assignments and grading. The usual. He couldn't help but think that the dinner was delicious. When he looked up to the clock to see that it was very late into the night, he called it a day and went to sleep.

* * *

He woke up in the middle of the night, he eyed at the hairpin that sat by his bed stool. He forgot to ask Gakushu or Ikeda about it, and then a thought came into his head.

He grabbed the pin and placed it into his pajama pockets. He didn't knew why but he wanted to see Anna again, and maybe this can trigger that.

That night in his second dream, he stood there as Anna rushed to comfort his child-self after scraping his knee when he fell off his skateboard in attempts to impress her.

Maybe nobody would notice the hairpin, only him and his 'admirer.' Now that he thought about it, the gentle white flower reminded him of her... His first love.

_And only love._


	11. Their antics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just Ikeda being Ikeda

**Their antics**

It was the early mornings and two certain reapers were awaken even before Karasuma. But they were not going to Class-E today, they had an errand to do in Tokyo.

Gakushu brushed his teeth as he looked at the mirror with a dazed expression, next to Ikeda who was doing the same who could barely keep himself awake. Both with bed hair that resembled a bird-nest, like Ivan's or Victor's own hair. Ikeda looked like he drank too many shots of vodka.

Rilliane was still in China for her conference on the education system, turns out that she called though the orders yesterday while she was dying in the conference.

"Have you heard? Rilliane was asked out by that Thomas Freeman guy, the Zeus copy during the conference." The light blonde haired male mumbled through his brushing.

"Thomas Freeman? Wasn't he from Gretel's branch? English Branch?" Gakushu asked after he spat out the toothpaste solution and rinsed his mouth with the tap water. He only vaguely remembered of the English reaper from the Management division, the only thing that stands out was that expandable Death Scythe of his that was similar to William T Spears.

One of the few things that he remembered about this reaper who had 50 years of experience is that when he woke up after committing his unforgivable act, he lost all of his human memories. He wouldn't even knew his own name or the circumstances of his death not if for the files from the Retrieval Division.

He washed his toothbrush while Ikeda continued the conversation. "Yeah, that sounds about right.." He only shrugged and began to fix up his bed hair with a comb. "That's what I heard from Gretel."

"Arthur is going away for a few day to the American Branch, orders from the Department."

"So, Tokyo?" Gakushu asked as he placed his glasses on.

"Checking on that girl who made that contract a while back." Ikeda said as he straightened his black tie.

Months ago, there was a girl around the same age as Gakushu who made a contract with a high-ranking demon with the promise of revenge on those who killed her only relative and older brother. It just so happened that she stumbled across his murdered body just as Gakushu left the scene after collecting his soul. It just so happened that she possessed a gift to be able see reapers in their uniform.

A thought here and there and she came to the conclusion that Gakushu was the murderer. In this time of vulnerability, a demon awakened from his hibernation came up to the girl and she was willing to trade away her soul for vengeance. It didn't help that Gakushu was talking to a junior and was eavesdropped by the same girl of how everyone was the same in the Department through their unforgivable sin. Logically she deducted that it was murder.

A battle here and there resulted in the strawberry blonde reaper of nearly four years battling over the skyscrapers of Tokyo and the final battle having the girl slashed Gakushu's chest with a junior death scythe where she learned of the true murder of Gakushu Asano; himself.

The two exited Ikeda's house and made their way to his sport-car.

"You know." Ikeda words broke out from Gakushu's thoughts as he turned on the engine. "That Class-E is weird, but I never thought that having an alien teacher would be so boring. I was having such high hopes!"

Gakushu groaned, his arm leaned on the seat rest and its hand against his cheek. "I gave up on trying to have you act professionally. Even if I played a game of tic-tac-toe here and there in front of the whole class on the first day."

Ikeda softly laughed, " Or listening to music while the teacher blabs on." Gakushu couldn't help but chuckle on that.

"As boring as the classes was, it is very strange to have a teacher like Korosensei. At first my head was spinning with information, about Class-E's secret and the existence of Korosensei. 'Don't think too much about it or you will be in for a painful headache.'" Gakushu explained. "It's weird to see him change colours from yellow to blue, or whatever colour he could. Sometimes I wished I had a normal class."

The light haired man let out a booming laugh. "Not me! Normal classes are boring~" He whined.

"Of course." The strawberry blonde scoffed at the man's antics.

"It be nice if you made friends with your classmates though." Ikeda let out a sigh. "Looks like I have to settle with that Ren guy."

Ikeda paused for a moment for a thought. 'That's right, he was more opened to his emotions in front of me than everyone else, even Rilliane... His thoughts are for everyone but... I can see that he closed off to everyone in that class. Not that I can blame him.'

"Although you opened up with that Kuma guy." The man casually noted.

"Who knows, maybe I connect more with a guy who was suffering under a load of paperwork." Gakushu shrugged and then he let out a yawn. "I'm going to sleep, wake me up when we get there and don't draw on my face."

"I make no promises." Ikeda cheekily said. Gakushu growled but he went to sleep anyway.

Gakushu was more opened with Karasuma since the man came to help him for a small thing, ink in his hands. Karasuma first came and build the foundation of a bridge to Gakushu Asano.

Ikeda sometimes wished that Gakushu made more friends his age as the boy was surrounded himself with adults. Although Gretel has the body of a teenager, her mind was that of an 200 year old. Noct was the same but with 180 years of experience and Iggy has 150 years. Lucia and Ivan has 40 years of experience under their belt. An, Johnny, Mark, Johnny with 20 years. Him and Tae-sik with 10 years.

Maybe in another life, he could had opened more himself to that class. Now Ikeda must focus on Gakushu opening up more to the friends he already has.

'And have the kid talk with Ren again.'

* * *

"Morning… Anna." Karasuma greeted the teddy bear that sat on his nightstand with a warm smile as he cutely patted it's head. He stretched out his arms as he rose out of bed, he prepared himself for the day, wearing his suit and neatening his dark hair. He eyed at that hairpin resting beside his bed stool.

He eyed it as if it could move before he let out a sigh. He took the pin and placed it into his suit pocket.

It was too early for most people but never for Karasuma. And besides, the government called him in this morning and he needed to get to school in time for his lesson plan.

Before he went straight to where the government meeting was held, he might as well treat himself for some coffee. Down the shopping district, the teacher who happened to be a government agent passed by a certain café.

"Are you going to make that carrot cake of yours? Because as soon as it hit the shelves, there will be riots." A male with light blonde hair and skin as white as snow commented as he set out the tables and chairs outside of the store.

"It's not that good." A girl whispered back with a maddening blush. She had long silky black hair that was tied in a high mid-tail and its ends curled. It was the same for her fringe as it curled and swayed to the right. Karasuma swore that this person just stolen his heart.

Memories started flashing back and he felt overwhelmed, he rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. 'No, it can't be.'

"See, they can already smell it a mile away." The man pointed to Karasuma who just stood there in front of the café. "I'm just surprised the Strawberry wasn't your first customer now that he can freely eat cake in this town with a disguise." A man with ice blue hair teased as he swept the floors.

"Mark, James! They're not even that good." The girl yelled back to her male workers.

"Good enough that even the infamous picky-eater Noct likes it." Johnny joined in as he wiped the windows. And he ushered the girl to take Karasuma's order.

"Go on, use those hips and seduce him." Mark commented before he received a slap from James while a kick from an angry Johnny. She dressed in the café's uniform. A simple short sleeved collar white shirt, dark grey pen skirt and well-kept leather shoes. She also had an apron tied around her waist.

'Anna?'

"Would you like to come inside? She asked, Karasuma's eyes hovered down to her chest to read her nametag. 'An' it said. She gave him a warm and caring smile that made his heart skip a beat. "I can't have you waiting out here in the cold for your coffee."

"How would you know that I wanted coffee? I could be wanting someone else." Karasuma blurted without even realising what he just said. The realisation kicked in the moment he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

"..." Anna's brown eyes widened.

"..." The three amigos outside had their mouths wide opened and gaped out like fishes.

"OMG, he flirted. He actually flirted. Told you the guys only come here for An and the girls." Mark uttered and he received another hit from James and Johnny. Karasuma knew that his face was warm and red. Even An's face was red that it made Karasuma remind of Karma's crimson hair.

'Why did I say that? Why did I even think of that!?' Karasuma berated himself for saying such to a thing to a person he just met.

An was taken back but she went back to give Karasuma a smile with a blush. "Aren't you a charmer? You will get a discount for that." And she tapped his nose, flirting back, Karasuma wanted to die from such cuteness. Although at he had to admit it, Gakushu Asano was cute to the point of blindness.

He and Ikeda fighting over a slice of cake in the staff-room after school was both hilarious and adorable.

Johnny looked like he was ready to murder someone. Karasuma walked into the café as the door chimed, An made her way around the front counter. She neatened her apron before looking back to the male and flashing a side smile.

"Hey… isn't that the guy from the photo?" Mark whispered to James.

"I think it is." James whispered back. The two ignored an angry Johnny as he angrily swiped the floor.

"Welcome!" A cheery voice, even in the early hours of the morning, called out and it made Karasuma give out a rare smile. "What would you like to order sir~"

"Surprise me." Karasuma said, clearly overwhelmed by the smile.

"Righto." An smiled and she went off to make his surprised drink. The coffee machine hummed as it did its work, she hummed a little tune as she tilted her head from the right and then to the left. It however left Karasuma with nothing to do, so he went and check the selection of pastries in front of him. They all look so appealing.

"Looks like we got another closet sweet-tooth here." An giggled, Karasuma couldn't help but blush. "Don't be ashamed, I think it's cute. They are only just food."

"I know of a boy like you, as much as he acts stern or arrogant, deep down inside he is the biggest cinnamon roll with the biggest sweet tooth I had ever seen." An mused as she described Gakushu Asano.

"So, where do you work? It's not every day that someone comes here this early in the morning." She asked. "They usually go to star-bucks." An couldn't help but have a shudder going down her spine the moment she spoke of that... Name.

"I'm a teacher." Karasuma half-lied, he was a government agent acting as a teacher for Class-E under orders from the government.

"At Kungigaoka junior-high?" An answered. She looked over to the male in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a familiarity for the past. 'So this is the model teacher I have been hearing about in the Department.' She remembered when she returned from one of her shifts with Johnny not too long ago to find photos of the man being passed around.

"How did you know, have you been stalking me?" Karasuma teased, he however was internally screaming of why he was being so casual with a stranger he only just met a few minutes ago.

"What can I say?" An shrugged. "I know things. What class?" She knew the answer already but it was good to keep the conversation going as he waited for his drink.

"E." Karasuma answered, he was unsure how the other would react. The End Class was quite infamous and he didn't want someone who easily judged those kids… Did he just thought 'want'?

"How is it?" An gently smiled, it was a warm smile, there was no smugness nor judgement. "I heard the kids are very lively. Reminds me of my days of highschool almost." She giggled at the end.

"The kids, they're good." Karasuma smiled back.

"You will make a great husband one day." An laughed as she placed the drink on the counter.

Karasuma felt his ears flushed red, he hastily take the drink. An looked up to him with a bit of cheek in her smile, waiting for him to try her surprise drink.

"It's good." Karasuma was surprised, he took another sip, it was a sweet hot chocolate. He was thankful that the drink was hot and it was hiding his growing blush when he looked over to An's smile. Although he couldn't help but feel a glare coming his way from the back.

Before Karasuma could even touch his wallet, An shook her head. "It's on the house. I'm very happy that you enjoy it so much. So your smile will be your bill."

"Thank you for the drink." Karasuma blushed harder.

"Please come back anytime, we will always have a place for here for a very happy customer." An said as she waved. And Karasuma left.

"He forgot his cake…" An wasn't herself today, she was enjoying his company so much that she forgot to give the man his cake. It was something her three male friends took note of and one wasn't happy.

"An~" Ikeda came bursting into the café before plunging forward for An like an overgrown puppy. "Pat me! Pat me!"

"Excited today?" An chucked. he greeted her junior with a gracefully and gentle smile as she patted him like an overgrown puppy. Ikeda whines slightly as he nuzzled in closer in her hand, her fingers cards through his light-hair locks. It was a good thing that Johnny was around to get jealous.

"Yeah, we are going to do a small trip for Tokyo today. Free more the boringness that was Class-E."

"Where's Gakushu?" An looked around and couldn't find the adorable strawberry.

"He's asleep in the car. Oh and I need an order for five cakes."

* * *

"They are not taking us seriously." Terasake grumbled, he was practically almost stomping his way to class. "Those Department bastards." He slammed the door out and walked his way to his desk, he slammed his bag onto the table.

"No shit, they think we are a joke." Maehara added as he sat down. "That Ikeda guy slept through the entire class like it was nothing."

Before PE yesterday, Korosensei was curious of how Ikeda managed to sat like a statue, unblinking while his partner, Gakushu sat next to him reading a language book. Today was Italian. He said he finished writing reports in the morning. But when asked about the reports after class, the strawberry blonde bluntly and emotionlessly said he will just copy and past yesterday's reports, there will be no differences today.

A clear taunt from the cold Gakushu.

"Ikeda-san." Korosensei called out, but he got no response. Ikeda said there, seemingly ignoring the alien teacher, unflinching and aso unblinking as well.

"Ikeda-san?" He called out again, and again no response.

Gakushu sighed as he fixed his glasses, without even looking he elbowed at the man's ribs. Hard. Ikeda jolted out in shook and he started to look around the class frantically. "What did I missed?! Shu, I can't see anything!"

"Glasses Ikeda." Gakushu flipped a page as he went back to his book. "Glasses."

"Oh yeah, just give me a sec." Ikeda took off his glasses, and then began to peel of the stickers from his lens. Stickers of his eyes. He promptly wore his glasses once more. "So~ What did I missed?"

"Nothing." Gakushu didn't look back at his senior. "No surprise there. Many some failed attempts of assassination here and there, but nothing much."

"Then why did you wake me up?" Ikeda whined, he leaned over his desk to the side and shook the strawberry blonde back and forth. The class was bewildered by the lack of professionalism. "I only had three hours of sleep here."

"I know, I was there on that meeting." Gakushu curtly said although he sympathized much with Ikeda as much as he hated to admitted. If only he would stop shaking him, the strawberry blonde felt a tick in his eye and the urge to eat some cake.

The two reapers were called in to discuss about the recent activity of Korosensei, the meeting would had taken only an hour but some angelic genius decided to set off an argument with a demon that cause the meeting to last into the night in Kunugigaoka time. The topic of the argument was lost for him. The strawberry blonde swore that he came out of the meeting smelling like coffee. He had a hard time getting his main senior, Rilliane to drink her 50th round of coffee.

"He asked for you."

"Which one? There are a lot of he's in this room." Ikeda playfully jested. Gakushu couldn't help but have the sudden urge to eat cake grew stronger. He couldn't wait to eat that strawberry shortcake he packed for lunch.

"The thing that made me ask you to buy me some sunglasses." Gakushu bluntly said. He flipped another page. Korosensei pointed a tentacle to himself. The strawberry blonde rolled his eyes as he looked back up to the teacher. "Yes, you."

"You mean the insanely bright yellow colour that may or may not burn off your eyes?" Ikeda asked, Korosensei couldn't think but felt a blow to his self-esteem. He quite like this colour thank-you very much!

"I rather not make my eyesight any worse than this." Gakushu growled lowly and he went to turn another page.

Korosensei was sulking in the corner.

* * *

"But hey, at least we learned his weakness." Karma smirked as he joined the conversation. "Apparently he has very bad eye vision."

"Yeah, do you really want to go up against Ikeda? He is two times bigger than you!" Rio yelled.

"We dealt with worse." Karma casually mentioned. The surveillance team watching over them snickered with various responses of; 'I call bullshit on that', 'have you not seen Grell's clusterfuck of his paperwork', 'I just got out of the Meeting', or 'I have to go to the Office for my next shift.'

'Go against him when he caught you even having a look at An.'

"I doubt the two can do anything when they were playing Go-Fish during Bitch-sensei's lesson of love." Terasake muttered under his breath.

"It was surreal tho, seeing Gakushu playing that card game of all things." Rio snickered.

* * *

The day before, Ikeda and Gakushu were playing with cards as Irina Jelavic, or otherwise known as Bitch-sensei was doing her French lesson. Too bad that Gakushu already knew French, he would had payed attention if it got him through this boring assignment.

'It was going to be a long assignment…' The young reaper thought to himself. There was nothing to do, he knew everything in class and he finished up the reports. This was going to be his routine until school finally finished.

"Got any 2's?" Ikeda asked as he eyed up from his deck of cards.

"Go fish." Gakushu answered boredly and somewhat smirked at Ikeda's defeated look. 'Haha… Sucker.'

"You can leave now, I do not want you to distract the class. Take your game to the staffroom." Irina was tired of the two's attics as she stood in front of them. It was much better on the first day when Gakushu and Ikeda were somewhat recording of their activities. This was just plain insulting. On the other side, in the surveillance room, Ivan and his team were screaming at Irina on their screens, saying that this is the longest that the two were civil.

"Come on!" Ivan cried out. It was his turn to write in the Gakushu Asano diary, this was such a cute moment! Ikeda's ribs hadn't been broke in almost a week the time he had been with Gakushu or any trees, that's a new world record!

"Can't, we have to stay here because of protocol and orders as well. Until break time and afterschool." Gakushu reminded the woman, he didn't turn and look to the blonde teacher, not even a side glance. He only watched Ikeda go to pick up another card from the deck.

"Reports for this class are already finished for today, I rather not watch another boring lesson." Gakushu stated and it only served to make the class angerier. "This is worse than Class A."

Ikeda lightly kicked… Actuality it wasn't really a kick but more of a bump the young reaper's knee. Gakushu slightly looked up to Ikeda who gave him a look that speaks of 'Gretel', to complete the look he placed his cards over his mouth as he wiggled his eyebrows to the boy.

'Don't you fucking dare.' Gakushu death glared at his senior.

"Can't you do it? Just for me?" Irina leaned over and battered her eye-lashes.

Ikeda stopped and turned to Irina-sensei before scanning her. Irina knew herself to be a beautiful young woman. She had fair skin, large light blue eyes, and wavy blond hair. With an ample bust and a curvy physique, her very sensual body that she could utilize to seduce and manipulate her assassination targets in order to achieve her goal. With the way Ikeda was look at her, she could that this to her advantage. She loved her class, of Class-E and she hated how these two outsiders viewed them as a mere fleas.

She won't have it, that Gakushu brat retained some hint of that Class-A attitude. Even if Gakushu was merely indifferent from the start and needed some outlet for his 'temper' just so the whole school wouldn't burn down to the ground from his wrath.

Although Ikeda was doing a very good job of keeping his eyes to her head.

"Meh." Ikeda shrugged, his eyes were dull and with a bored face as he turned back to Gakushu. He made no reaction what would had been common in a man his age as he crossed his legs over the other. "I seen prettier."

The whole class jaws were wide opened. Irina mouth was gaped open like a goldfish. If Karma was drinking his carton of strawberry milk, the spit-take would had been glorious. In there surveillance room, everyone were laughing their asses off. Ivan and Gilbert were laughing the hardest, 'Of course!'

"I fucking called it!" Gilbert hollered, he took off his shirt as he swung it around the dark room.

"Let me guess, it's An." Gakushu said. He couldn't help but think that side of Ikeda was adorable, even if he was stealing his patch of strawberry pudding whenever he gets the chance. "Got any 5's?"

"Damn it." Ikeda muttered under his breath as he passed his card over to the boy. "You know me so well. I should visit her at the cafe at lunch." Ikeda thought out loud to himself and Gakushu sighed.

"You made it very obvious." Gakushu remembered back to the open affections Ikeda held for his main senior. "Very, very obvious."

Ikeda had an odd obsession over his main senior that stemmed back to his beginning years, which still continued to this day. The strawberry blonde knew that the man was head over heels for her, as he was deeply in love. He would say as he rushed to hug his main senior, lifting her up in the air in his arms "Praise me! Praise me!" Or a "Pat me! Pat me!" And he would be like this more often if Johnny was around, ten points if Johnny was jealous and grumpy for the rest of the day at the end of it.

That and because Ikeda has many ways of hugging her, his favourite is when he was at the side of her, his body crouched and lowered as he wrapped his arms around her torso. Pressing his face at the side of her breast. An never seemed to be troubled or even bothered by this, she would smiled back and started to pat him like a puppy. And he relished this.

"And I'm more of a leg person." Ikeda laughed. A man from the German branch with greyish blonde hair working in the surveillance duty wolf-whistled. Good thing that Ikeda or Tae-sik wasn't around to hear that.

'Somebody in the surveillance room just wolf-whistled. Better call in Tae-sik later on, it is definitely Gilbert.' Ikeda's An-senses tells otherwise.

"Ikeda, go to hell." Gakushu spatted, he stomped on the other's feet and then grinded his heel in.

Ikeda made no indication that he was in pain as he brightly smiled to his junior.

* * *

"What about that time we found that Ikeda was reading a Hetalia comic during class." Isogai found out one morning that the strawberry blonde male his report and ignoring that his senior snuck in a hetalia book.

"You know, he reminds me a bit of Feli." Ikeda whispered to the boy as he peered over his shoulder. "The pasta and being Italian."

"It's like they don't see Korosensei as a dangerous threat." Isogai carefully noted. He remembered from day one that Gakushu looked uncomfortable at what his partner's behaviour but as the days goes on. He looked as if he just shrugged and accepted his fate. If you can't beat them, join them as the saying went.

Or the time they were playing Snake and Ladders during Korosensei's math lesson. One time Korosensei got annoyed with Ikeda was focusing more on his phone than his lesson, he tried to get the two's attention but they weren't budging with their eyes on their phones. He was Korosensei, he could do almost anything!

That he asked the man to show the whole class what he was watching. The full video the teacher demanded and nobody liked how Ikeda smugly and cheekily smirked, it was worse than Karma's.

Ikeda played the Coconut song, on repeat. Korosensei couldn't do anything as Ikeda's phone case was encased by the same green stuff of anti-Korosensei matter. So the class had to endure the torture of hearing a choir as they sang of how a coconut was not a nut.

"Good thing that I got the ten hour version." Ikeda boasted as he turned on the volume to be even louder and gave everyone the thumbs up. He leaned on his chair, his legs crossed and on top of the table as he went to read his newspaper.

Those in the surveillance room cheered and chanted to turn it on louder. Anything with excitement was welcomed, especially with a class boring as this, at least in the Department's standards. Korosensei's novelty quickly wore off as Gakushu noted. Although he was sometimes internally screaming at the weirdness of the alien teacher… thingy. 'I mean, just look at that colour.'

"Ko-ko-ko nut. The kokonut nut is a giant nut, if you eat too much, you will get very fat. Very fat~"

As Ikeda went through his morning paper, humming along with the catchy toon as the class suffered, they noticed that Gakushu wasn't bothered by this, he didn't dent an eyeball as he read through his report. That was when they noticed the earphones in his little ears, they were also green.

He knew.

After being around Ikeda, otherwise known as the pudding thief, of course he would know of the man's antics. At least for this week he wasn't suffering from his bad jokes and puns. The one time Ikeda gave him a bad joke, the man had a soda can to the face.

'Damn, you are good Gakushu Asano.' Karma smirked at the boy's pre-planning.

"Now the kokonut-nut is a big-big nut but this delicious nut… it's not a nut!"

"It's a koko fruit, it's a koko fruit, of the koko tree, of the koko tree… from the koko-palm family!"

As Gakushu listened to a song of his free choice, the class quickly fled the room when the recess bell came. The surveillance room cheered and laughed at the hilarity before being yelled at a passing William T. Spears to get back to work.

His eyes were bulging out when he saw that Ikeda wasn't doing their job professionally until he got the memo.

Korosensei was no threat, making the their jobs as representatives nothing more than babysitting a class of teenagers who were receiving assassination training. It has the classification similar to 'the Meeting' meaning nobody was going to take them seriously.

A waste of the two's talent and the surveillance's time, if you asked him.

* * *

"Actually, I think the only times they were taking their jobs seriously was when Karasuma-sensei was doing a class. They aren't as disruptive as when they were in Korosensei's and Irina's." Isogai took notice on the pattern. "That could be because Ikeda is his assistant teacher."

"Ikeda does nothing, he just sits around reading his paper or on his phone."

"Weird." Rio worded.

"And even then, they knocked him out yesterday." Itona added.

"But you have to admit, they took down Karasuma-sensei." Maehara pointed out the obvious. "Karasuma-sensei. Even if it was an accident."

"I hope he is doing okay..." Kayano muttered to herself and spoke for everyone's concern for their stern teacher.

"What do you think Nagisa?" Karma turned to their blue-haired friend.

"Eh?"

"What do you think of the Department?" Karma asked and Nagisa felt the stares of his friends.

"They definitely don't take us seriously." Nagisa somewhat agreed with the notion that was shared in his fellow Class-E students, however. "But I can't help but agree from Gakushu's point of view."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Nagisa couldn't explain it but "If Gakushu could somehow join the GRD then maybe we are the less of his worries. It is very hard to described, its like he had see something."

"I agree." Karasuma spoke out as he entered the room. "Gakushu Asano joined the Department when he was ten, and now I could see that he was holding back. Especially during the Sports Festival."

"Karasuma-sensei, why do you let them dick around?" Karma blurted without care. Not that he was complaining too much, Ikeda was just to funny and amusing, how could he to not watch.

"It is as Nagisa said, it's Gakushu Asano's eyes." Karasuma reminded the students as he tapped to his temple. "There are eyes that has seen death, the cruelties of humanity but when Ikeda is around him and messes about, some of that light comes back and I forget that he was an adult in a child's body."

Meanwhile in the surveillance room, Ivan and his team was crying and praising for the man that was Karasuma. Gilbert blew into a napkin as he sobbed, "He feels so motherly! So understanding! Just like An!"

Ivan was calling Antonio through the phone, "If you ever see a man named Karasuma- Yeah that guy! Give him all the discounts and free stuff we can, I will send you the video!"

"But Irina is the same too right? She has seen death when she was a kid?" Kayano noted.

"Yes but I think it would be a good thing to give Gakushu some sense of a childhood. If the Department allows it through Ikeda then so be it." Karasuma walked over to the front.

"Oh and you are wrong about one thing about Ikeda." He somewhat smiled.

"He helps me with the paperwork."


End file.
